Fraudulent nursing diploma scheme leads to convictions

MIAMI, Fla. — A federal jury sitting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, found four defendants guilty for their roles in a fraudulent nursing diploma scheme.

Following a three-week trial last month, Gail Russ, registrar of the Palm Beach School of Nursing in Lake Worth, Florida; Cassandre Jean, owner and operator of Success Nursing Review in Brooklyn, New York; and Vilaire Duroseau, owner and operator of the Center for Advance Training and Studies in West Orange, New Jersey, were found guilty of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud charges.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida (USAO), the defendants were charged, along with 11 co-defendants, for their involvement in a scheme to sell fraudulent nursing degree diplomas and transcripts.

The diplomas and transcripts were reportedly obtained from two private nursing schools that, at one time, were approved by the State of Florida to issue diplomas and transcripts to individuals seeking licenses and jobs as registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical/vocational nurses (LPN/VNs).

The bogus diplomas and transcripts qualified purchasers to sit for the national nursing board exam and, after passing it, to obtain licenses and jobs in various states as RNs and LPN/VNs, said the USAO.

According to the USAO, the overall scheme involved the distribution of more than 7,600 fake nursing diplomas by Palm Beach School of Nursing and Quisqueya School of Nursing LLC in Palm Beach County, Fla. These schools are now closed due to the excessive failure rates of their students taking the state nursing board exam.

The nursing applicants who passed the National Nursing Board exam reportedly used fraudulent diplomas to obtain RN or LPN/VN licenses and nursing jobs with unwitting healthcare providers throughout the United States.

An additional 11 defendants entered guilty pleas to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in Case No. 23-60007-Cr-Singhal. In total, 27 defendants were charged and convicted in 2023 for participating in the nursing diploma fraud scheme, known as Operation Nightingale, that created an illegal licensing and employment shortcut for aspiring nurses, said the USAO.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe; Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri, FBI, Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar, HHS-OIG, made the announcement.

FBI Miami and HHS-OIG Miami investigated these cases. Valuable assistance was provided by Homeland Security Investigations, Miami Field Office; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs-Office of Inspector General; and Florida Attorney General-Florida Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Mid-Atlantic Field Office. Senior Litigation Counsel Christopher J. Clark and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon M. Juenger prosecuted these cases, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff is handling asset forfeiture.