Florida woman pleads guilty in scheme to sell thousands of fraudulent nursing diplomas

A pistillate pleaded blameworthy this week to selling astir 3,000 fraudulent nursing diplomas done schools she owned and operated successful South Florida.

Carleen Noreus, 52, took a plea woody aft a two-week trial, during which prosecutors showed the assemblage dozens of exhibits, including immoderate of the fake diplomas and transcripts fixed to radical who had not completed the grooming to go registered nurses, per tribunal records reviewed by Fox News Digital.

"Nursing licenses indispensable beryllium earned done education, training, and demonstrated competence, not purchased done fraud," Jason A. Reding Quiñones, the U.S. lawyer successful Florida's confederate district, said successful a statement.

"By selling thousands of fraudulent diplomas and transcripts, the suspect undermined the integrity of the nursing assemblage and our healthcare system," Quiñones continued. "The Southern District of Florida remains committed to holding accountable those who nett by corrupting nonrecreational licensing processes and placing the nationalist astatine risk."

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President Donald Trump nominated Judge Jason Reding Quiñones to service arsenic U.S. lawyer for the Southern District of Florida connected Sunday. (Florida Courts)

Noreus, who has been a registered caregiver since 2002, sold the phony diplomas from April 2018 to October 2025, prosecutors said. The documents she sold enabled these radical to beryllium for the nationalist nursing committee examinations without needing to spell to nursing school, according to prosecutors.

Nearly 2,300 radical who obtained diplomas oregon transcripts from Noreus got licenses by passing the committee exams and went connected to enactment arsenic nurses crossed the country, tribunal documents said.

Both of the schools she founded arsenic avenues to merchantability the diplomas were named aft her and were subsequently unopen down by authorities authorities. She was the president of Carleen Home Health School, Inc., successful Plantation and vice president of Carleen Home Health School II, Inc., successful West Palm Beach.

The now-defunct nursing schoolhouse successful Plantation, Florida, that Carleen Noreus utilized to merchantability fraudulent diplomas. (carleenhealthinstitute.org)

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Prosecutors said Noreus collaborated with others successful the wide-ranging, multi-year scheme.

In a connection of information Noreus signed connected Monday, she said Stanton Witherspoon, who was president of Carleen Home Health School II, paid her to falsify diplomas for entry-level nurses, registered nurses and bachelor's-level nurses.

Additionally, Noreus admitted that she backdated transcripts issued to students to marque it look arsenic though they had received their degrees earlier her schools had been terminated by the state.

A banal representation of a caregiver successful bluish scrubs (Xavier Lorenzo)

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Noreus pleaded blameworthy to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to wealth laundering. She faces a maximum of 20 years successful situation connected each count.

Noreus was 1 of 13 defendants charged successful the 2nd signifier of Operation Nightingale, a nationwide probe to uncover fraudulent nursing diploma mills. The archetypal signifier concluded successful 2023, resulting successful 30 defendants being charged and convicted.