US nursing school operator behind 2,956 fake nursing diplomas is going to federal prison.
Carleen Noreus was sentenced this week to 87 months, the longest sentence reported so far in Operation Nightingale, the federal crackdown on diploma mills.
Her two South Florida schools charged students $10,000 to $20,000 for credentials they never earned, and nearly 2,300 of those buyers passed their board exams and worked as nurses in Florida and across the country.
Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of 15 years or more; her defense asked for 5.
At sentencing, Noreus read a statement of remorse, and the judge told her, “I don’t know why it went south for you.”
A hearing next month will decide how much of the scheme’s money she gives up. Prosecutors wanted nearly 20 years. She got just over 7.
Did the sentence fit what she did?
US: nursing school operator behind 2,956 fake nursing diplomas is going to federal prison.
