Four Harris County residents were charged in federal court last week for their alleged participation in a wire fraud scheme that resulted in thousands of aspiring nurses to buy fake diplomas and transcripts.
Ludnie Jean, Serge Jean, Simon Itaman and Anna Itaman are accused of recruiting and soliciting individuals from January 2017 to November 2022 who sought nursing credentials to gain employment as licensed practical and vocational nurses, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
Dubbed “Operational Nightingale” by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the multi-state crackdown led to 25 people being charged as a part of the alleged scam that led to more than 7,600 bogus nursing diplomas being issued by three South Florida-based nursing schools.
MORE FEDERAL COURT COVERAGE: Former Citgo officer sentenced for securing contracts for bribes.
Siena College in Broward County, Florida; Palm Beach School of Nursing in Palm Beach County, Florida; and Sacred Heart International Institute in Broward County have all been closed after their suspected involvement in the scheme. Those charged — including the four Harris County residents — could face up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Along with Florida and Texas, search warrants were also executed in Delaware, New York and New Jersey during the operation.
The alleged four “recruiters” from Harris County were conspired with Charles Etienne, Sacred Heart’s owner, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Etienne was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud after allegedly creating and selling false and fraudulent transcripts and diplomas stating that the aspiring nurses attended Sacred Heart and completed all the needed coursework and clinicals for licensed practical and vocational nursing diplomas.
Ludnie and Serge Jean also owned and operated Jean’s NCFLEX Review LLC, a company operating out of Houston, according to court records. Rhomy Louis of Suffolk County, New York, and Nadege Auguste of Broward County were also charged as recruiters alongside the Jeans and Itamans.
“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 the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
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