The COVID-19 murder for money scheme in hospitals across the US appears, in many cases, to have been carried out by fake doctors and nurses, according to anti-corruption attorney Thomas Renz.
His statement follows the arrest of over two dozen people by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in connection with a plan to sell fake nursing degrees and transcripts from legitimate institutions in the years leading up to the Covid pandemic.
“The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and our law enforcement partners launched a multi-state coordinated law enforcement action to apprehend individuals engaged in a scheme to sell false and fraudulent nursing degree diplomas and transcripts,” according to the news release.
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“The enforcement action resulted in the execution of search warrants in Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Texas, and Florida, and 25 individuals being charged for their involvement in the fraud scheme.”
“The alleged scheme involved the selling of fake and fraudulent nursing degree diplomas and transcripts obtained from accredited Florida-based nursing schools to aspiring Registered Nurse (RN) and Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurse (LPN/VN) candidates. The individuals who acquired the bogus nursing credentials used them to qualify to sit for the national nursing board exam. Upon successful completion of the board exam, the nursing applicants became eligible to obtain licensure in various states to work as an RN or a LPN/VN. Once licensed, the individuals were then able to obtain employment in the health care field.”
I am an RN and saw this happening… no one believed me. I even checked one fellow nurse’s name at Dept of health website for my state and she wasn’t licensed at all. Another woman didn’t know even know how to test blood sugar levels. I believe this is more common than folks know.
— RoamingRN (@roaming_rn) May 7, 2023
Over the last few years, millions of people have died unnecessarily – not from a killer virus but from a killer plan to depopulate the earth.
More than 7,600 fraudulent nursing degrees were granted by three nursing schools in South Florida. These institutions were Siena College in Broward County, Palm Beach School of Nursing in Palm Beach County, and Sacred Heart International Institute in Broward County. These schools are now closed.
According to DOJ, each defendant faces up to 20 years in prison.
“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.”
“Health care fraud is nothing new to South Florida, as many scammers see this as a way to earn easy, though illegal, money,” said acting Special Agent in Charge Chad Yarbrough, FBI Miami. “What is disturbing about this investigation is that there are over 7,600 people around the country with fraudulent nursing credentials who are potentially in critical health care roles treating patients. Were it not for the diligence and hard work of the investigators on this case, the extent of this fraud may not have been discovered.”
“The alleged selling and purchasing of nursing diplomas and transcripts to willing but unqualified individuals is a crime that potentially endangers the health and safety of patients and insults the honorable profession of nursing,” said Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar of Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “In coordination with our law enforcement partners, HHS-OIG continues to aggressively investigate bad actors who so brazenly disregard the well-being of others in order to enrich themselves fraudulently.”
Recall, DOJ charged 18 people including doctors in massive Covid healthcare fraud takedowns last month.
“The Department of Justice today announced criminal charges against 18 defendants in nine federal districts across the United States for their alleged participation in various fraud schemes involving health care services that exploited the COVID-19 pandemic and allegedly resulted in over $490 million in COVID-19 related false billings to federal programs and theft from federally funded pandemic programs,” DOJ said in a news release.
