A Nigerian national, Patrick Nwaokwu, has been sentenced to 21 months in prison in the United States for his role in a nursing credentials fraud scheme that resulted in losses exceeding $1.5 million.
The sentence was announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland following a federal court ruling, which also ordered that Nwaokwu serve two years of supervised release after completing his prison term.
According to U.S. prosecutors, Nwaokwu conspired with several individuals to sell fraudulent nursing diplomas and academic transcripts to persons seeking employment in the healthcare sector. Court documents revealed that the scheme enabled buyers to fraudulently obtain the licences required to work as nurses in the United States.
Prosecutors stated that Nwaokwu operated through multiple entities, including a nursing school in Virginia and Palm Beach School of Nursing in Florida, facilitating the issuance of fake credentials. The scheme, they said, allowed unqualified individuals to apply for licensure and practise as nurses, thereby exposing patients to serious health risks, including potential injury or death.
Authorities further disclosed that Nwaokwu charged as much as $17,000 for registered nurse certificates and between $6,000 and $10,000 for licensed practical nurse certificates.
According to his plea agreement, the scheme began around 2018, with Nwaokwu working alongside co-conspirators, including Musa Bangura, to recruit individuals in Maryland and other locations. The group issued falsified documents claiming recipients had completed required coursework and clinical training.
Investigators said some of the institutions involved had lost accreditation, prompting the conspirators to backdate documents to make it appear that candidates graduated before the loss of approval. Nwaokwu was also said to have collaborated with accomplices in Florida, guiding buyers on how to manipulate licensing applications to evade detection.
Authorities noted that the fraudulent documents were used to obtain licences from regulatory bodies such as the Maryland Board of Nursing, enabling unqualified individuals to secure employment within the healthcare system.
One of Nwaokwu’s co-conspirators, Musa Bangura, had earlier been sentenced to 13 months in federal prison for his involvement in the scheme.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Baltimore Field Office and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
The development adds to a series of fraud-related cases involving Nigerian nationals abroad. In a related case, U.S. authorities indicted Shodiya Babatunde and Jamui Ahmed over an alleged business email compromise scheme targeting healthcare companies in Minnesota. Prosecutors said the suspects used spoofed domains and fraudulent executive email accounts to divert more than $13 million in payments intended for healthcare providers into accounts under their control.
Data from the U.S. Sentencing Commission shows that of the 61,678 cases reported in the 2024 fiscal year, 395 involved healthcare fraud, representing a 19.7 per cent increase since 2020.
