The inspector general's office, FBI and Justice Department launched "Operation Nightingale" - named after Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing - to take down the scheme after a Florida state audit identified poor NCLEX passing rates at the three nursing schools. And it does shock the mind," Omar Perez Aybar, special agent in charge with HHS' Office of Inspector General, told ABC News. "This is probably one of the most brazen schemes that I've seen. Applicants who passed the test and gained licensure then allegedly used the fake documents to secure employment "with unwitting healthcare providers throughout the country," officials said. Aspiring nurses would allegedly pay $10,000 or more for the fake diplomas, which fast-tracked the process for them to take the NCLEX test. The scheme involved selling more than 7,600 fraudulent diplomas and transcripts from three now shuttered nursing schools in Florida to aspiring nurses who had not actually completed the necessary coursework to graduate or sit for the National Council Licensure Examination. Twenty-five people have been charged for their alleged participation in a coordinated scheme to sell aspiring nurses thousands of fake nursing degree documents, the Justice Department said Jan.
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