Eighteen nurses from Nigeria practicing in Texas, United States have been charged to court for obtaining educational credentials through fraudulent means.
The Texas Board of Nursing filed formal charges against 23 nurses practicing in the US with forged certificates.
In a sting operation dubbed ‘Operation Nightingale‘, the Board noted that it is authorized to file Formal Charges against a nurse if probable cause exists.
According to the Texas Board of Nurses, all the suspects were caught in a grand fraudulent diploma/transcript scheme as revealed by an ongoing investigations.
The operation to fish out the nurses also involved the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), which was inaugurated on January 25, 2023, to arrest individuals involved in a scheme to sell false and fraudulent nursing degree diplomas and transcripts.
The Nigerian suspects involved are; Abiodun, Yetunde Felicia; Adelakun, Abiodun Aveez; Adelekan, Joseph Adewale; Adeoye, Vivien Temitope; Adewale, Modinat Abidemi; Afolabi, Olufemi Toun; Afolabi, Omowunmi F; Agbo, Odumegwu Steve; and Ajibade, Charlot Omotayo.
Others are; Akande, Olabisi Christiana; Akhigbe, Catherine; Akinrolabu, Folasade Margaret; Ako, Esiri Rachael; Akpan, Rosemary Moses; Alimi, Bukola A; Ani, Ndirika Justina; Aroh, Nchekwube C.; and Ayodeji, Sherifat Olubunmi.
The Texas Board of Nurses statement said, “Upon successful completion of the board exam, the nursing applicants became eligible to obtain licensure in various states to work as an RN or a LPN/VN”.
“The Board has filed Formal Charges against the following nurses for fraudulently obtaining educational credentials.
“The Board is authorized to file Formal Charges against a nurse if probable cause exists that the nurse has committed an act listed in Tex. Occ. Code §301.452(b) or that violates other law. See Tex. Occ. Code §301.458. Further, Formal Charges are publicly available. See Tex. Occ. Code §301.466(b).
“Please note that Formal Charges are not a final disciplinary action, and a nurse is permitted to work, as a nurse, while Formal Charges are pending.”
Other non-Nigerian nurses named in the scandal are Abanda, Jacob Atambili; Addai, Agnes Fosuah; Anaaba, Awingrug Musah; Anthony-Annor, and Spendilove; Asanga, Albert Nshanui.
“This list will be updated continuously as the Board receives additional information about the fraudulent diploma/transcript scheme,” the statement added.
