On Thursday, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin announced that the licences of twenty nurses had been revoked as a result of a federal investigation into allegations of diploma forgery in Florida.
Based on the same investigation, the state Board of Nursing revoked the temporary licences of 26 additional individuals.
Those whose licences were revoked had to inform their employers and were flagged in the National Council of State Boards of Nursing’s data system.
Each individual would have the opportunity to provide proof that they have received the necessary education and training for licence reinstatement.
Platkin stated that anyone who continued to practise nursing in New Jersey could face additional fines or penalties.
The overall scheme involved the distribution of over 7,600 forgeries of nursing degrees issued by three nursing schools in South Florida: Siena College in Broward County, Florida, Palm Beach School of Nursing in Palm Beach County, Florida, and Sacred Heart International Institute in Broward County, Florida.
Federal investigators determined that each student was charged nearly $15,000 per year.
Federal prosecutors and unsealed indictments returned by a federal grand jury allege that defendants engaged in a scheme to sell fraudulent nursing degree diplomas and transcripts obtained from accredited Florida-based nursing schools to individuals seeking licences and employment as registered nurses (RNs) and licenced practical/vocational nurses (LPN/VNs).
In a previous statement, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe said, “Not only is this a public safety issue, but it also tarnishes the reputation of nurses who actually complete the rigorous clinical and academic requirements to obtain their professional licences and employment.”
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