The hunting season for nurses with a fake academic diploma (FAD) opened during late-January 2023. Based upon early (end of February) statistics, 26 nurses with a FAD were nabbed in Delaware, 22 were found in Georgia, Washington state bagged 150, and single finds were made in New York, Maryland, and Ohio.1 All of these captured nurses with FADs held RN/LPN/VN licenses. Thousands more nurses with FADs remain to be found. The hunting season for nurses with FADs has no closing date.
On January 25, 2023, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida released the report: Fraudulent Nursing Diploma Scheme Leads to Federal Charges Against 25 Defendants.2 The report identified that “more than 7,600 fake nursing diplomas were issued by three South Florida-based nursing schools.” About 2,400 of the FADs were used by holders to pass nursing licensing exams.