A U.S.-based Nigerian, Patrick Nwaokwu, has been sentenced to about two years in federal prison for his role in a scheme involving fake nursing certificates and wire fraud. 

Mr Nwaokwu, 55, conspired with others to sell fraudulent nursing diplomas and educational transcripts to individuals. He also assisted the purchasers with fraudulently obtaining nursing licensures they needed to attain employment in the health care field, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement.

“Mr Nwaokwu and his co-conspirators consciously and recklessly exposed Maryland patients to potential harm, risk of death, and serious bodily injury,” it added.

Mr Nwaokwu was sentenced on April 24 by Honourable Deborah L. Boardman to 21 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for committing wire fraud.

The Department of Justice said Mr Nwaokwu engaged in the scheme through multiple entities, including Nursing School 1, located in Virginia, and Palm Beach School of Nursing, located in Florida.

“As a result of the scheme, Nwaokwu and his co-conspirators caused more than $1.5 million in actual losses,” it added.

Investigations revealed that beginning in 2018, Mr Nwaokwu conspired with Musa Bangura, 67, of Manassas, Virginia, to recruit potential purchasers in Maryland and elsewhere who were looking to obtain nursing degrees. 

According to the Department of Justice, Mr Nwaokwu sold fraudulent Nursing School 1 documents to purchasers. The documents falsely confirmed that the purchasers completed the necessary courses and clinical training at Nursing School 1 to obtain nursing degrees. 

“Nursing School 1 is no longer licensed, so Nwaokwu, Bangura, and others backdated the false documents that they sold to purchasers to make it appear that they attended Nursing School 1 before it lost its licensure,” the Department of Justice said.

It added that further investigation also revealed that in other forged certificate rackets between 2018 and July 2021, Mr Nwaokwu conspired with Johanah Napoleon, 50, of West Palm Beach County, Florida, and Geralda Adrien, 56, of Broward County, Florida, to sell false and fraudulent RN and LPN degrees from Palm Beach School of Nursing to individuals in Maryland. 

According to the Department of Justice, Mr Nwaokwu generally charged $17,000 for RN degrees and $6,000 to $10,000 for LPN degrees.

“He instructed purchasers to list Palm Beach School of Nursing on their National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) applications but to leave their graduation date blank, so the date could be backdated. This would make it appear that the student graduated before Palm Beach School of Nursing lost its licensure,” the Department of Justice said. 

While Mr Nwaokwu bagged almost two years in prison, his co-conspirator, Mr Bangura, had previously received a 13-month federal prison sentence for his role in the scheme.