Federal investigators have dismantled what prosecutors describe as one of the largest health care fraud schemes in American history, a nationwide operation that sold $250 million in fake nursing diplomas to roughly 15,000 people. Many of those diploma buyers have since disappeared into the U.S. health care system, leaving states scrambling to track them down. Forty-three defendants have been convicted and are serving prison sentences ranging from four to six years.
The scheme operated heavily through close-knit Haitian immigrant networks in South Florida, recruiting people who wanted to purchase nursing credentials rather than complete the education and clinical training required to earn them. Isaac Bledsoe, Special Agent in Charge of the Health and Human Services Inspector General’s Miami office, said the investigation began after authorities received a tip about someone seeking $16,000 from a family member to buy a nursing diploma from a South Florida school.
The Fort Lauderdale Storefront at the Center of the Sting
Agents quickly launched an undercover operation. In spring 2021, an undercover agent walked into a small storefront in Fort Lauderdale and spoke with business owner Geralda Adrien about obtaining a nursing degree without attending classes or completing any training. Adrien described a process involving testing connected to a nursing school in New York, and told the agent he would not need to travel there.
“If you’re ready to go now, I have a way of getting you tested in a school in New York,” Adrien told the undercover agent. “It is the easiest state for processing. You don’t have to go to New York, you can test here but you just get processed through the board of New York.” The agent ultimately purchased a fraudulent diploma for $16,000, a transaction that helped investigators unravel the full scope of the conspiracy. Prosecutors said Adrien’s companies acted as brokers, conspiring with owners and operators of accredited nursing schools in Florida that produced fraudulent diplomas and transcripts. You can learn more about the fake nursing diploma investigation and how the undercover operation exposed the brokers and participating schools.
Convicted Operators and the Profits They Spent
Among those convicted alongside Adrien were Johanah Napoleon, owner of the Palm Beach School of Nursing; Eunide Sanon, owner of Siena College of Health; and Carleen Noreus, owner of Carleen Health Institute. Noreus pleaded guilty in June to selling nearly 3,000 fraudulent diplomas and was ordered to forfeit nearly $4 million. Prosecutors said the scheme’s leaders used the proceeds to fund luxury homes, cars and travel.
The consequences for patients are serious. Unqualified individuals holding fake nursing credentials have treated vulnerable patients in hospitals, nursing homes and clinics, creating what authorities describe as a direct threat to patient safety. Bledsoe noted that federal prosecutors did not pursue diploma buyers because purchasing a bogus degree is not a federal crime, leaving the burden of identifying and removing fraudulent nurses entirely to state licensing boards.
States Racing to Revoke Licenses and Protect Patients
State nursing boards have posted the names of more than two dozen Florida nursing schools, now shut down, on their websites to help identify potentially fraudulent credential holders. Officials across the country are working to pull licenses and remove unqualified nurses from clinical settings before more patients are harmed. The scale of the problem, 15,000 diploma buyers spread across the national health care workforce, means the full damage may take years to assess.
