Allegations of a mammoth fraud scheme have rocked the nursing profession. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) has alleged that several Florida nursing schools sold fake nursing diplomas and transcripts to over 7,600 individuals, many of them Haitian-American immigrants. The OIG alleges that many of those individuals used the false credentials to sit for licensing exams and gain nursing employment. Those individuals, and others who legitimately graduated from these schools, now face the potential loss of their nursing license and employment. Retain national professional license attorney Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm's Defense Team if you are affected. Get the professional attorney help you need for the best outcome to your licensing issues and to preserve and enforce your other rights. Call 888.535.3686 or go online now.

Operation Nightingale

The OIG's Operation Nightingale enforcement action has not yet charged individuals who allegedly received and used false credentials to sit for nursing license exams or gain nursing employment. Instead, the U.S. Attorney's Office has filed federal court wire-fraud charges against twenty-five officials from the Florida nursing schools. Those schools, all now closed, include

• Siena College/Siena College of Health
• Sacred Heart International Institute
• Quisqueya School of Nursing LLC (“Sunshine Academy”)
• Med-Life Institute WPB LLC
• Quisqueya Health Care Academy, LLC
• Palm Beach School of Nursing, LLC.

The criminal cases do not yet make clear the number of individuals receiving the credentials who the U.S. Attorney's Office believes may have been parties to the criminal fraud. But the U.S. Attorney's Office alleges that some unidentified individuals receiving the credentials may have been co-conspirators.

Licensed Nurse Issues

In the face of Operation Nightingale's disclosures, state licensing officials aren't taking any risks with public health. Nurses who gained their license without the required education, and instead using fraudulent degrees and transcripts, may indeed place their patients at risk of harm from their unqualified care. So state licensing officials are notifying licensed nurses with suspicious credentials from the closed Florida schools that they may make a non-disciplinary surrender of their license. Alternatively, those licensees may attempt to submit proof that they completed the nursing courses and clinical hours, earning the grades and degree their educational credentials assert. Ignoring the problem won't make it go away. If you earned a legitimate degree from one of the closed Florida nursing schools, you must submit appropriate documentation promptly. If you instead now have serious doubts over your academic credentials, in light of Operation Nightingale, then a non-disciplinary license surrender could be the wiser course to rescue your future nursing career.

Qualified Professional License Help Available

Don't attempt to resolve your nursing license issue on your own, without skilled, experienced, and qualified advice. If Operation Nightingale is affecting your nursing license or employment, retain professional license defense attorney Joseph D. Lento to help you evaluate, pursue, and protect all of your rights. Attorney Lento has helped hundreds of professionals and students nationwide with licensing and academic issues. Call 888.535.3686 or go online now.