Florida, USA-November 2, 2023: The highly-anticipated sentencing of Stanton A. Witherspoon, who was embroiled in a scandal involving a fake nursing degree, has commenced today in a Florida courtroom.
The case has attracted considerable attention, not only within the United States but also internationally, with Liberia Public Radio providing coverage of the proceedings.
Stanton A. Witherspoon, a healthcare professional and businessman was among 26 individuals arrested early this year for selling fake nursing degrees to over 7,000 nurses.
Twenty defendants have pled guilty or been convicted at trial in U.S. District Court in South Florida for their participation in a wire fraud scheme, known as Operation Nightingale, that created an illegal licensing and employment shortcut for aspiring nurses.
According to public records, residents of Florida, along with individuals from other states, were charged for their involvement in a scheme to sell fraudulent nursing degree diplomas and transcripts obtained from accredited Florida-based nursing schools to individuals seeking licenses and jobs as registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical/vocational nurses (LPN/VNs).
The bogus diplomas and transcripts qualified purchasers to sit for the national nursing board exam and, after passing it, to obtain licenses and jobs in various states as RNs and LPN/VNs. The overall scheme involved the distribution of more than 7,600 fake nursing diplomas issued by three South Florida-based nursing schools: Siena College in Broward County, Florida (Fla.), Palm Beach School of Nursing in Palm Beach County, Fla., and Sacred Heart International Institute in Broward County. These schools are now closed. Nursing applicants used the fraudulent diplomas to obtain RN or LPN/VN licenses in various states and nursing jobs with unwitting health care providers throughout the country.
The following defendants have pled guilty or were convicted at trial for their involvement in the fraudulent nursing diploma scheme (sentencing information is noted where available):
Defendants Associated with Fraudulent Nursing Diplomas and Transcripts from Siena College –
- Stanton Witherspoon, of Burlington County, New Jersey (N.J.), pled guilty on August 24, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60005-Cr-Smith). Witherspoon is scheduled to be sentenced on November 2, 2023.
- Alfred Sellu, of Burlington County, N.J., pled guilty on August 18, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60005-Cr-Smith). Sellu is scheduled to be sentenced on November 2, 2023.
- Rene Bernadel, of Westchester County, New York (N.Y.), pled guilty on August 24, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60005-Cr-Smith). Bernadel is scheduled to be sentenced on November 2, 2023.
- Eunide Sanon, of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., pled guilty on March 14, 2023, to an information charging her with conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60013-Cr-Moreno). Sanon was sentenced on May 23, 2023, to 27 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to forfeit $1,287,633.
Defendants Associated with Fraudulent Nursing Diplomas and Transcripts from Palm Beach School of Nursing –
- Krystal Lopez, of Palm Beach County, Fla., pled guilty on May 10, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60007-Cr-Singhal). Krystal Lopez is scheduled to be sentenced on December 14, 2023.
- Damian Lopez, of Palm Beach County, Fla., pled guilty on May 10, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60007-Cr-Singhal). Damian Lopez is scheduled to be sentenced on December 14, 2023.
- Francois Legagneur, of Nassau County, N.Y., pled guilty on May 10, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60007-Cr-Singhal). Legagneur is scheduled to be sentenced on December 13, 2023.
- Reynoso Seide, of Union County, N.J., pled guilty on May 10, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60007-Cr-Singhal). On September 19, 2023, Seide was sentenced to 24 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.
- Yelva Saint Preux, of Suffolk County, N.Y., pled guilty on May 10, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60007-Cr-Singhal). Preux is scheduled to be sentenced on December 14, 2023.
- Palm Beach School of Nursing’s owner Johanah Napoleon pled guilty, on November 21, 2022, to wire fraud (Case No 22-60111-Cr-Smith) and conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 22-60118-Cr-Smith). Napoleon was sentenced on July 18, 2023, to 21 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to forfeit $3.2 million.
Defendants Associated with Fraudulent Nursing Diplomas and Transcripts from Sacred Heart International Institute –
- Rhomy Louis, of Suffolk County, N.Y., pled guilty on September 15, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60010-Cr-Smith). Louis is scheduled to be sentenced on November 28, 2023.
- Simon Itaman, of Harris County, Texas (TX), pled guilty on September 15, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60010-Cr-Smith). Simon Itaman is scheduled to be sentenced on November 28, 2023.
- Anna Itaman, of Harris County, TX, pled guilty on September 15, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60010-Cr-Smith). Anna Itaman is scheduled to be sentenced on November 28, 2023.
- Serge Jean, of Harris County, TX, pled guilty on September 15, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60010-Cr-Smith). Serge Jean is scheduled to be sentenced on November 28, 2023.
- Ludnie Jean, of Harris County, TX, pled guilty on September 15, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60010-Cr-Smith). Ludnie Jean is scheduled to be sentenced on November 28, 2023.
- Cimoyne Alves, of Lincoln, Rhode Island, pled guilty on August 18, 2023, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-6006-Cr-Smith). Alves is scheduled to be sentenced on October 30, 2023.
- Charles Etienne, of Lake Worth, Fla., pled guilty on April 11, 2023, to an information charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Case No. 23-60012-Cr-Singhal). Etienne is scheduled to be sentenced on November 2, 2023.
- Nadege Auguste, of Coral Springs, Fla., was found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on September 28, 2023. Auguste is scheduled to be sentenced on January 3, 2024.
Defendants Associated with Fraudulent Nursing Diplomas and Transcripts through PowerfulU Healthcare Services LLC –
- Geralda Adrien, of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud (Case No. 21-60198-Cr-WPD) and was sentenced on August 10, 2022, to 27 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to forfeit $3,309,000.
- Woosevelt Predestin, of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud and was sentenced on August 10, 2022, to 27 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to forfeit $3,309,000 (Case No. 21-60198-Cr-WPD).
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe; Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri, FBI, Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar, HHS-OIG, made the announcement.
FBI Miami and HHS-OIG Miami investigated these cases. Valuable assistance was provided by Homeland Security Investigations, Miami Field Office; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs-Office of Inspector General; and Florida Attorney General-Florida Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Mid-Atlantic Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Clark is prosecuting these cases and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff is handling asset forfeiture.
A complaint, information, or indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Today Legal Proceedings
Today, Witherspoon’s sentencing hearings began in a Florida courtroom, where he faces multiple charges, including wire fraud.
Liberia Public Radio, Alphonso Soe in Florida said says no electronic device is allowed in the courtroom as the proceedings go on.
The sentencing is expected to conclude in the coming hours.
