No fewer than 43 Nigerians have been charged with forging educational credentials to practise nursing in the United States.
The Texas Board of Nursing filed formal charges against the defendants in March.
According to a statement released by US authorities, the defendants were among 75 persons under investigation for obtaining fraudulent educational qualifications in a probe dubbed Operation Nightingale.
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, Fl; Palm Beach School of Nursing in Palm Beach County, Fl; and Sacred Heart International Institute in Broward County.
The board said the individuals who acquired the fraudulent nursing credentials used them to qualify to sit for the national nursing board exam.
On successful completion of the board exam, the nursing applicants reportedly became eligible to obtain licensure in various states to work as registered nurses or Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurse, LPN/VN.
The board said it had filed ‘formal charges’ against the nurses for fraudulently obtaining educational credentials.
“Please note that formal charges are not a final disciplinary action, and a nurse is permitted to work, as a nurse, while formal charges are pending,” it added.
The Board said it was working diligently with all appropriate nursing regulatory bodies, nursing education programme providers, accreditation bodies and authorities to detect, investigate and resolve these matters as quickly as possible, including seeking revocation of any licensure obtained through fraudulent means.
“This list will be updated continuously as the Board receives additional information about the fraudulent diploma/transcript scheme,” the statement added.