7,600 Fake Nursing Diplomas Issued As Burlington County Duo Face Federal Charges

BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ — Two local people are accused of participating in a massive scheme to sell fake nursing degree credentials, federal officials in Florida said.

Officials have charged 25 people in the alleged scheme, which saw the distribution of more than 7,600 fake nursing diplomas and transcripts issued by three South Florida-based nursing schools. The bogus forms qualified purchasers to sit for the national nursing board exams and obtain licenses and jobs in various states, creating an illegal "shortcut" for aspiring nurses.

Stanton Witherspoon and Alfred Sellu of Burlington County are charged with conspiring to commit and committing wire fraud, federal officials said. They are charged, along with Rene Bernadel of Westchester County, N.Y., with creating and distributing false and fraudulent diplomas and transcripts for Siena College's nursing program. The documents said that aspiring RN and LPN/VN candidates had completed courses and clinicals at Siena College, but in fact they never had, officials said.

The alleged scheme took place from Nov. 2018 through Oct. 2021 in Broward County, Fla., officials said.

Witherspoon was founder and president of the Nursing Education Resource Center, a limited liability company in Delaware, said officials. Sellu worked for the NERC, court records show.

Each defendant faces up to 20 years in prison, said the US. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, in a scheme that "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.”