๐๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ง๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ฆ๐, ๐บ๐๐๐๐ ๐ช๐ฌ๐ถ ๐๐๐๐๐ 20 ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ย ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ย
๐ผ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ฟ๐๐๐ก๐ฎ ๐๐๐ฌ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ฅ๐๐ง- ๐๐๐ผ:The CEO of Spoon Communication Network in Liberia, Mr. Stanton A. Witherspoon is among dozen others charged by the Department of Justice U.S. Attorneyโs Office Southern District of Florida for their alleged participation in a wire fraud scheme that created an illegal licensing and employment shortcut for aspiring nurses. Each defendant faces up to 20 years in prison.
According to the release from the U.S. Attorneyโs Office in Southern District of Florida on Wednesday January 25 this year, the defendants engaged in a scheme to sell fraudulent nursing degree diplomas and transcripts obtained from accredited Florida-based nursing schools to individuals seeking licenses and jobs as registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical/vocational nurses (LPN/VNs).
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 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, Fla., Palm Beach School of Nursing in Palm Beach County, Fla., and Sacred Heart International Institute in Broward County. These schools are now closed.
Each defendant faces up to 20 years in prison.
The indictment charges defendants Stanton Witherspoon of Burlington County N.J.; Alfred Sellu of Burlington County N.J.; and Rene Bernadel of Westchester County, N.Y. with conspiring to commit and committing wire fraud.
The indictment alleges that Witherspoon, Sellu, and Bernadel solicited and recruited individuals who sought nursing credentials to gain employment as an RN or LPN/VN.
It is alleged that these defendants arranged with Sanon, who managed Siena College and was charged by information with wire fraud conspiracy, to create and distribute false and fraudulent diplomas and transcripts.
These fake documents represented that the aspiring RN and LPN/VN candidates had attended Siena Collegeโs nursing program in Broward County and completed the necessary courses and clinicals to obtain RN or LPN/VN diplomas. In fact, the aspiring nurses never completed the necessary courses and clinicals.
โNot only is this a public safety concern, it also tarnishes the reputation of nurses who actually complete the demanding clinical and course work required to obtain their professional licenses and employment,โ said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe, who added that โa fraud scheme like this erodes public trust in our health care system.
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