No fewer than 15 Nigerians working and living in the United States have been charged with falsifying their nursing credentials, a notice by the Texas Board of Nursing states.

“The Board has filed Formal Charges against the following nurses for fraudulently obtaining educational credentials,” reads the notice that included the names of 23 nurses charged with certificate forgery.

The charge slip asserted that the nurses were discovered after law enforcement agencies busted a job racket syndicate coordinating the sale and use of fake nursing degree transcripts and diplomas.

The accused persons were “named by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and its law enforcement partners as part of national scheme involving the sale and use of false and fraudulent nursing degree diplomas/transcripts,” per the charges filed between February 13 and 17 and signed by Jena Abel, deputy general counsel for the Texas nursing board.

The nurses caught in the dragnet were all Africans who presumably left their home countries to land lucrative health jobs in the U.S. without having to endure the hardships of passing professional examinations.

Even though the accused nurses were all of African descent, the majority of them were Nigerians with names linked to the Igbo and Yoruba ethnic groups.

Abiodun Yetunde Felicia with LVN #104338, Agbo Odumegwu Steve, RN #882398, Adelakun Abiodun Aveez, RN #1034998, Ani Ndirika Justina, LVN#1046786, and Adelekan Joseph Adewale, LVN #351002 were among the accused nurses.

Others include Adeoye Vivien Temitope with LVN #342620, Adewale Modinat Abidemi with LVN#353512, Afolabi Olufemi Toun, LVN#1009094, Afolabi, Omowunmi F, LVN #1016030, Ako Esiri Rachael, LVN# 1031788, Akpan Rosemary Moses, #351969, Alimi, Bukola A., LVN# 1016636, Aroh Nchekwube C., LVN#1046089 and so on.

If the nurses are found guilty of the crime, their licences would be revoked and other privileges related to their nursing practice would be taken away.