𝘼𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙘 𝘿𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙉𝙚𝙬𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙥𝙚𝙧- 𝙐𝙎𝘼:The CEO of Spoon Communication Network in Liberia,   Mr. Stanton A. Witherspoon  is among dozen others charged by the Department of Justice  U.S. Attorney’s 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. Attorney’s 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 College’s 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.

“Not 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,” said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe, who added that “a fraud scheme like this erodes public trust in our health care system.