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Two South Jersey men were charged in the scheme that allowed thousands of prospective nurses to skip time-consuming training and licensing by purchasing credentials for up to $15,000.
Those indicted collected more than $100 million peddling the bogus licenses, federal officials said.
HHS-OIG, the FBI and Justice Department worked jointly on the operation, dubbed "Operation Nightingale," named after Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing.
The overall scheme involved the distribution of more than 7,600 fake nursing diplomas issued by three South Florida-based nursing schools.: These schools are now closed.
The crackdown spanned five states: Florida, New York, New Jersey, Texas and Delaware, and resulted in more than two dozen criminal wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy charges against 25 people
Among those charged include Stanton Witherspoon and Alfred Sellu of Burlington County. Witherspoon was the founder of the Nursing Education Resource Center (NERC), a Delaware limited liability company located in Newport. Sellu was employed by the NERC.
Each defendant faces up to 20 years in prison.
The indictment alleges that Witherspoon, Sellu, and Rene Bernadel of Westchester County, NY, solicited and recruited individuals who sought nursing credentials to gain employment as an RN or LPN/VN.
Federal law enforcement officials underscored the high stakes of the scheme, saying that it potentially jeopardized patients' health and safety.
Special Agent in Charge Chad Yarbrough, FBI Miami, said, “What is disturbing about this investigation is that there are over 7,600 people around the country with fraudulent nursing credentials who are potentially in critical health care roles treating patients.
Officials said that at this point it is up to the state licensing boards to push forward with action against those individuals under their purview -- some of whom have been practicing nursing somewhere in the United States, perhaps currently, said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe.
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