Authorities are barring 46 nurses from practicing in New Jersey after their licenses have been tied to a major fraud scandal at Florida schools, the Attorney General’s Office announced Thursday.
The Division of Consumer Affairs rescinded the licenses of 20 nurses and voided the temporary licenses of 26 others after they were flagged in a database following “Operation Nightingale,” a federal investigation that found several Florida nursing schools sold more than 7,600 fake nursing diplomas from 2016 to 2022.
The Attorney General’s Office did not immediately release the names of the nurses, where they had been practicing or how they obtained their credentials.
The nurses will be able to make their case to the Board of Nursing to reinstate their licenses by showing they have received the appropriate education and training.
Florida schools sold thousands of fake nursing diplomas
The scheme centers around three now-closed Florida schools: Siena College, Palm Beach School of Nursing and Sacred Heart International Institute.
Thousands of people from across the U.S. paid an average of $15,000 for fake diplomas at these schools. About 2,400 later passed licensing exams as registered nurses, licensed practical nurses or vocational nurses in several states.
Federal prosecutors charged 26 people in the wire fraud scheme.
Attorneys for some of the nurses in New York and Georgia say nurses who legitimately earned diplomas are being lumped together with those who acquired them fraudulently.
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Contributing: The Associated Press.