3 found guilty in multi-state nursing degree fraud: Over 7,600 fake diplomas sold

LAKE WORTH, Fla. (CBS12) — After a three-week trial, a federal jury found three people guilty of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud charges for their involvement in a multi-state nursing degree fraud scheme.

On December 15, a federal jury in Fort Lauderdale found defendants Gail Russ, registrar of the Palm Beach School of Nursing in Lake Worth, Cassandre Jean, owner and operator of Success Nursing Review in Brooklyn, New York, and Vilaire Duroseau, owner and operator of the Center for Advance Training and Studies in West Orange, New Jersey, guilty for their involvement in a scheme to sell fraudulent nursing degree diplomas and transcripts.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said the defendants and 11 other co-defendants obtained the fraudulent diplomas and degrees that at one time were approved by the State of Florida to issue diplomas and transcripts to individuals seeking licenses and jobs as registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical/vocational nurses (LPN/VNs).

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The DOJ said the diplomas and transcripts allowed the buyers to participate in the national nursing board exam and, after passing it, to obtain licenses and jobs in various states as RNs and LPN/VNs. The overall scheme involved the distribution of more than 7,600 fake nursing diplomas by Palm Beach School of Nursing and Quisqueya School of Nursing LLC in Palm Beach County. These schools are now closed due to the excessive failure rates of their students taking the state nursing board exam.

Those nursing applicants who passed the National Nursing Board Exam used their falsified diplomas to obtain RN or LPN/VN licenses and nursing jobs with unwitting healthcare providers throughout the United States.

An additional 11 defendants entered guilty pleas to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. In total, 27 defendants were charged and convicted in 2023 for participating in this nursing diploma fraud scheme, known as "Operation Nightingale", that created an illegal licensing and employment shortcut for nurses.

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