A former nursing school operator in Florida pleaded guilty June 15 to selling approximately 2,600 fake degrees as part of a broader, yearslong scheme that the Justice Department said resulted in 7,500 to 15,000 falsified diplomas.
Carleen Noreus operated two nursing schools in Broward and Palm Beach counties between 2018 and 2023, according to court documents from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida that were reviewed by Becker’s. Ms. Noreus pleaded guilty to falsifying diplomas and transcripts for students in Associate of Science in Nursing, Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Licensed Practical Nursing programs. In exchange, Ms. Noreus received payments from co-conspirators.
With two conspiracy counts of wire fraud and money laundering, Ms. Noreus faces up to 14 years in prison, according to the Miami Herald. Her sentencing date is Sept. 10.
Ms. Noreus’ case differs from the approximately 50 other nursing school operators charged in the federal operation known as Operation Nightingale, in which the Justice Department began delivering indictments in 2023. Every other defendant pleaded guilty before trial, whereas Ms. Noreus entered a not guilty plea at arraignment in March and invoked the right to a jury trial. The trial lasted about two weeks before she signed a plea deal.
The case also marked the first time prosecutors alleged that a patient death was linked to the scheme.
A nurse who obtained a fake associate’s degree from one of Ms. Noreus’ schools — studying only a couple of months before passing her state licensing exam — was later placed at a St. Louis hospital through a staffing agency using falsified credentials. In August 2023, she failed to provide proper care to a patient experiencing atrial fibrillation and did not notify the attending physician or charge nurse as required, according to court documents.
The patient died. The judge restricted prosecutors from questioning the nurse extensively about the death at trial, limiting testimony to her lack of competence, the Herald reported.
Operation Nightingale has resulted in charges against operators of more than 20 South Florida nursing schools. Prosecutors estimate the broader scheme generated more than $220 million and produced as many as 15,000 fraudulent credentials — nurses who, under the Nurse Licensure Compact, were eligible to practice in dozens of states without obtaining additional licenses.
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