A 55-year-old Nigerian man, Patrick Nwaokwu, has been sentenced to 21 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud for selling counterfeit nursing diplomas and academic transcripts that enabled unqualified individuals to practice as nurses across the United States.
A US-based Nigerian man, Patrick Nwaokwu, 55, has been handed a 21-month federal prison sentence for orchestrating a large-scale nursing credentials fraud scheme. Judge Deborah L. Boardman also imposed two years of supervised release following his guilty plea to wire fraud. Prosecutors revealed that Nwaokwu and his co-conspirators sold fraudulent nursing diplomas and academic transcripts to unqualified individuals seeking to enter the healthcare profession since 2018.
Court documents show that Nwaokwu worked with multiple collaborators, including Musa Bangura and Johanah Napoleon, to distribute falsified documents from defunct institutions and sell fraudulent Registered Nurse and Licensed Practical Nurse degrees through the Palm Beach School of Nursing in Florida. He charged $17,000 for RN degrees and between $6,000 and $10,000 for LPN certifications, generating more than $1.5 million in losses.
Authorities warned the scheme carried grave public safety consequences, stating it “enabled these unqualified individuals to apply for licensure and practice as nurses,” thereby “consciously and recklessly” exposing patients to “potential harm, risk of death, and serious bodily injury.” Co-conspirator Bangura had previously received a 13-month prison sentence for his role in the operation.
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