Three Individuals Facing Charges For Selling Fraudulent Nursing Degrees

2 years ago 440

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Officials announced that 3 individuals are facing national charges for selling fraudulent nursing degrees successful a healthcare fraud scheme.

Fifty-year-old Patrick Nwaokwu of Laurel, Maryland, 62-year-old Musa Bangura of Manassas, Virginia, and 45-year-old Johanah Napoleon of Wellington, Florida was charged with conspiracy to perpetrate mendacious statements relating to wellness attraction matters, and mendacious statements to wellness attraction matters, successful transportation with a strategy to nutrient and merchantability fraudulent nursing transcripts and diplomas.

According to the affidavit, the 3 conspired on with others to perpetrate wellness attraction fraud by creating and selling fraudulent nursing transcripts and diplomas that were utilized to show that individuals completed required courses and objective hours to get aesculapian licenses and signifier healthcare.

Nwaokwu and Bangura owned and operated a nursing schoolhouse successful Virginia, according to the affidavit. The schoolhouse was forced to adjacent successful 2013 owed to violations of Virginia Board Regulations. Following the closure, the Nwaokwu and Bangura operated the erstwhile schoolhouse arsenic an entity wherever those funny could acquisition backdated, illegitimate registered caregiver oregon licensed applicable caregiver transcripts and certifications.

Nwaokwu on with co-conspirators besides allegedly coached unqualified individuals to walk nursing committee exams and a fig of these individuals obtained employment astatine assorted healthcare providers crossed the District of Maryland.

The transgression ailment besides alleges that astir 175 of his nursing graduates person applied to the Maryland Board of Nursing. The ailment says that Nwaokwu conspired with individuals successful Florida to merchantability illegitimate nursing degrees from a 2nd nursing schoolhouse created by Napoleon successful July 2016.

The Florida Board of Nursing forced the schoolhouse to cease operations owed to a debased National Council Licensure Examination passing complaint successful 2017. The ailment besides states that the outgo of illegitimate degrees from the schoolhouse included mentation classes solely designed to walk the NCLEX and not to supply ceremonial education.

Investigators obtained a database of graduates who applied to instrumentality the New York State Board Examination. Some of those whose transcripts were backdated are included successful this database arsenic having passed the New York State Board Examination.

Court documents besides item abstracted FBI undercover operations wherever the officials purchased fraudulent degrees. In 2020, a confidential root allegedly obtained a fraudulent RN grade from Nwaokwu and successful March of 2021, an FBI undercover cause purchased a diploma for astir $16,000.

The diploma appears to beryllium signed by Napoleon with a graduation day of June 29, 2018.

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Nwaokwu, Bangura, Napoleon, and their co-conspirators allegedly sold illegitimate transcripts and degrees for betwixt $6,000 and $18,000.