A Laurel man was sentenced to nearly two years in federal prison for his role in a nursing credentials scam, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland announced Friday.
Patrick Nwaokwu, 55, will have to spend 21 months behind bars followed by two years of supervised release for committing wire fraud.
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Nwaokwu conspired with others to sell fraudulent nursing diplomas and educational transcripts to people, according to his plea agreement. He also helped the purchasers with fraudulently obtaining nursing licensures they needed to get employed in the health care field.
Nwaokwu engaged in the credentials scheme through several entities, including Nursing School 1, located in Virginia, and Palm Beach School of Nursing, in Florida.
The defendant and his co-conspirators caused more than $1.5 million in total actual losses, authorities said.
Starting in 2018, Nwaokwu conspired with 67-year-old Musa Bangura, of Manassas, Va., to recruit potential purchasers in Maryland and other states who were looking to obtain nursing degrees. The defendant was found guilty of sellling purchasers fraudulent Nursing School 1 documents, which confirmed the purchasers "completed the necessary courses and clinical training...to obtain nursing degrees," officials said.
Because Nursing School 1 is no longer licensed, the defendant, Bangura and others backdated the false documents they sold to purchasers to make it seem they attended the school before it lost its licensure.
Also beginning in 2018 and continuing through at least July of 2021, Nwaokwu conspired with 50-year-old Johanah Napoleon, of West Palm Beach County, Fla., and 56-year-old Geralda Adrien, of Broward County, Fla., to sell false and fraudulent RN and LPN degrees from Palm Beach School of Nursing to people in Maryland. The defendant usually charged 17,000 for RN degrees and $6,000-$10,000 for LPN degrees. He to0ld purchasers to list Palm Beach School of Nursing on their National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) applications, but to leave their graduation date blank so that date could be backdated. This would make it seem like the student graduated before Palm Beach School of Nursing lost its licensure.
By providing fraudulent documents, the defendant and his co-conspirators helped the purchasers obtain fraudulent nursing licenses from state licensing agencies, including the Maryland Board of Nursing, and employment in the health care field. The scheme allowed these unqualified people to practice as nurses.
"Nwaokwu and his co-conspirators consciously and recklessly exposed Maryland patients to potential harm, risk of death, and serious bodily injury," the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland said via press release.
Bangura was previously handed a 13-month federal prison sentence for his role in the scheme, according to authorities.