South Carolina is among the many states having their nurse licensing officials investigate nurses who hold credentials from the now-closed Florida nursing schools caught in massive federal fraud allegations.
If you are practicing nursing in South Carolina under suspect credentials from one of the involved Florida nursing schools, retain the national Lento Law Firm License Defense Team to represent you at your nursing job and before South Carolina nurse licensing officials. Call 888.535.3686 or go online now for skilled and experienced representation fighting your South Carolina nursing license issues arising out of the massive nursing school fraud scandal.
Criminal Fraud Charges in Florida Nursing School Scandal
Federal FBI investigators in the Operation Nightingale enforcement action worked with Department of Health & Human Services officials to identify alleged criminal fraud selling fake credentials from these now-closed Florida nursing schools:
- Sacred Heart International Institute;
- Quisqueya Health Care Academy;
- Quisqueya School of Nursing called Sunshine Academy;
- Siena College;
- MedLife Institute West Palm Beach; and
- Palm Beach School of Nursing.
The U.S. Attorney's Office filed federal criminal fraud charges in Florida against officials at these Florida schools. The charges allege their sale of thousands of fake nursing credentials to minority immigrants and other aspiring nurses around the country. Operation Nightingale officials further allege that those individuals used the suspect credentials for nursing licensure, employment, and graduate nursing education at other schools.
South Carolina Board of Nursing Investigation
According to a National Council of State Boards of Nursing press release, state licensing boards are cooperating with Operation Nightingale officials. State licensing boards across the country are notifying nurses holding credentials from the above schools of the fraud allegations involving their licensure. A public report indicates that South Carolina is among the states in which licensing boards identified nurses misusing the suspect credentials for licensure. Your best move is to prepare for a South Carolina license disciplinary proceeding if you are among the many nurses holding suspect credentials from one of the Florida nursing schools.
South Carolina Board of Nursing Licensing Authority
South Carolina's Nurse Practice Act authorizes South Carolina's State Board of Nursing to establish and enforce educational standards for nurse licensure in the state. The Act's Section 40-33-20 expressly authorizes the Board to withdraw or invalidate a nurse's license for “issued to an ineligible person either in error or based upon a false, fraudulent, or deceptive representation in the application process.” South Carolina's Nurse Practice Act also authorizes the Board to investigate, charge, and revoke the license of any nurse engaging in those deceptive practices or violating other state nursing standards. The massive Florida nursing school fraud scandal implicates these prohibitions and their disciplinary procedures.
South Carolina Nurse Employer Investigations
South Carolina nurse employers have their own strong interests in investigating their nurses' suspect credentials obtained through one of the closed Florida nursing schools. To protect patients and avoid civil and regulatory liability, employers nationwide have been suspending and even terminating the involved nurses if they cannot prove the credibility of their credentials. Some employers have turned their nurses over to state licensing officials, who are also notifying employers when they identify nurses with suspect credentials.
South Carolina License Defense Team Services
South Carolina nurses facing professional licensing issues arising out of the Florida nursing school scandal have skilled and experienced license defense representation available to them. Retain the Lento Law Firm's national Professional License Defense Team to represent you before the South Carolina State Board of Nursing, with your employer, and at your nursing school. Premier license defense attorney Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm Defense Team have helped hundreds of professionals across the country with license issues. Call 888.535.3686 or go online now for your South Carolina nursing license defense.
