Five plead guilty in fraudulent nursing diploma scheme

Photo: Blanchi Costela

Five defendants out of dozens have pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy in the Southern District of Florida for their alleged participation in a scheme that created an illegal licensing and employment shortcut for aspiring nurses, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Krystal Lopez and Damian Lopez (both of Palm Beach County, Florida), Francois Legagneur (of Nassau County, New York), Reynoso Seide (of Union County, New Jersey) and Yelva Saint Preux (of Suffolk County, New York) will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal in federal district court in Fort Lauderdale on July 27. They each face up to 20 years in federal prison.

WHAT'S THE IMPACT

During guilty plea hearings, Legagneur, Seide, Saint Preux and Damian Lopez admitted to soliciting and recruiting people who sought nursing credentials that would allow them to work as registered, licensed practical or vocational nurses. 

They also admitted to working with Palm Beach School of Nursing to create and distribute fraudulent diplomas and transcripts representing that the aspiring nursing candidates had attended the school and completed the necessary courses and clinicals to obtain their nursing diplomas – when in fact they hadn't.

Krystal Lopez admitted that, in her role as Palm Beach School of Nursing's finance director, she processed applications for individuals who were issued fraudulent nursing school diplomas and transcripts and that each student paid the school $15,000 for the documents. 

The defendants all admitted to profiting from the scam.

The case is being prosecuted in conjunction with a related criminal matter in the District of Maryland, according to the DOJ.

THE LARGER TREND

It's not the first time this year a nursing diploma scheme has led to legal consequences. In February in a separate alleged scheme, more than two dozen people were charged in the Southern District of Florida for their alleged participation in a wire fraud scheme that created an illegal licensing and employment shortcut for aspiring nurses.

In that case, defendants purportedly engaged in a scheme to sell fraudulent nursing degree diplomas and transcripts obtained from accredited Florida-based nursing schools to people seeking licenses and jobs as registered nurses and licensed practical/vocational nurses.

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, the DOJ said.

The overall scheme involved the distribution of more than 7,600 fake nursing diplomas issued by three South Florida-based nursing schools: Siena College in Broward County, Palm Beach School of Nursing in Palm Beach County and Sacred Heart International Institute in Broward County. These schools are now closed.
 

Twitter: @JELagasse
Email the writer: Jeff.Lagasse@himssmedia.com