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    December Convictions in Florida Fake Nursing Scam

    Law 4 Mins Read

    As first appeared in NewsBreak

    By Aron Solomon

    One of the most remarkable legal stories of 2023 was a $114 million fake nursing degree scam in South Florida. This case was a poignant and scary reminder of the potential dangers associated with fake nursing credentials. This scheme involved the sale of over 7,600 fake diplomas, leading to the indictment of more than two dozen people. 

    In December, after a two-week trial, Gail Russ, the former registrar of the shuttered Palm Beach School of Nursing, and recruiters Cassandre Jean and Vilaire Duroseau from New York and New Jersey, were convicted of conspiring to commit wire fraud and multiple wire fraud offenses, each carrying a potential 20-year prison sentence. Russ, who resides in Coconut Creek, was found guilty of 13 wire fraud offenses but acquitted of 5; Jean, residing in Wellington and New York, was convicted of 4 wire fraud counts, as was Duroseau.

    Originally, there were 14 defendants charged in this scheme. The December verdict is the legal fate of the 11 who had not previously pleaded guilty and cooperated with prosecutors. 

    The scope of the charges are truly breathtaking. The defendants took advantage of the closure of the nursing school to charge up to $20,000 for a fake nursing degree and even a set of course transcripts, which is a requirement for nursing accreditation. 

    As is the case with every fraud related to the medical and healthcare professions, a fraud of this magnitude not only jeopardizes public safety, it can also contribute to medical malpractice.

    As Florida medical malpractice lawyer Sean Domnick observed, “Individuals with no training or nursing knowledge bought these fake degrees. This poses a massive risk to public safety and, specifically, to any patients unfortunate enough to be placed under their care. The results of this type of fraud can be catastrophic and tragic.”

    This fraud also undermines the integrity of the healthcare system, eroding public trust in the qualifications of healthcare professionals. It ultimately places an unnecessary burden on genuinely qualified nurses who have worked hard to obtain their credentials, potentially leading to a strain on the healthcare workforce.

    Undeniably, the use of fake nursing degrees can contribute to medical malpractice. Nurses with no training or insufficient training and expertise are exponentially more likely to make errors in patient care, contributing or leading to adverse outcomes. This not only harms the patients but also exposes healthcare facilities to massive legal and financial repercussions.

    These convictions aren’t the end of the story, as they are part of a broader federal crackdown on a nursing-school diploma mill operating in South Florida that also extended into the northeast and Texas. 

    The 7,600 fake nursing diplomas were from several Florida-based nursing schools, including Palm Beach School of Nursing, Sacred Heart International Institute, and Siena College. The 14 individuals involved in this scheme were all administrators or affiliates of the schools. 

    The crackdown that led to these convictions also led to the closure of the implicated nursing schools. The investigation is ongoing and expected to result in more arrests. Each defendant convicted in December faces up to 20 years in prison because of how widespread this scam truly was – the total amount paid for the fake degrees between 2016 and 2021 is at least $114 million.

    These three defendants will be sentenced in April. Notably and remarkably, each individual is free on bond, having put up their homes as collateral as terms of their release – as was requested by the prosecution.  

    The convictions and ongoing investigations send a strong and necessary message about the serious consequences of engaging in fraudulent activities that can impact people’s health and our collective well-being. Law enforcement needs to continue to work diligently on this and related schemes to safeguard the standards and trustworthiness of the nursing profession.

    About Aron Solomon

    A Pulitzer Prize-nominated writer, Aron Solomon, JD, is the Chief Legal Analyst for Esquire Digital and the Editor-in-Chief for Today’s Esquire. He has taught entrepreneurship at McGill University and the University of Pennsylvania, and was elected to Fastcase 50, recognizing the top 50 legal innovators in the world. Aron has been featured in Forbes, CBS News, CNBC, USA Today, ESPN, TechCrunch, The Hill, BuzzFeed, Fortune, Venture Beat, The Independent, Fortune China, Yahoo!, ABA Journal, Law.com, The Boston Globe, YouTube, NewsBreak, and many other leading publications.

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