A Nigerian man, Patrick Nwaokwu, has been sentenced to 21 months in federal prison in the United States for his role in a scheme involving the sale of fraudulent nursing diplomas, transcripts, and licences.
Nwaokwu of Laurel was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman to 21 months’ imprisonment, followed by two years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to wire fraud.
According to a post on the FBI X (formerly Twitter) handle on Tuesday, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, Kelly Hayes, said the convict conspired with others to defraud individuals and regulatory bodies within the healthcare system.
According to court documents, Nwaokwu “conspired with others to sell fraudulent nursing diplomas and educational transcripts to individuals,” and also “assisted the purchasers with fraudulently obtaining nursing licensures they needed to attain employment in the health care field.”
Investigators said he carried out the scheme through multiple entities, including a Virginia-based institution identified as Nursing School 1 and the Palm Beach School of Nursing in Florida, resulting in more than $1.5 million in losses.
The FBI revealed that from 2018, Nwaokwu worked with Musa Bangura, 67, of Virginia, to recruit individuals seeking nursing qualifications, selling them fake documents that falsely indicated they had completed required coursework and clinical training.
The bureau said that because Nursing School 1 had lost its licence, Nwaokwu and his conspirator backdated documents “to make it appear that they attended Nursing School 1 before it lost its licensure.”
