Florida Woman Pleads Guilty to Selling Nearly 3,000 Fraudulent Nursing Diplomas
Carleen Noreus, 52, of South Florida pleaded guilty this week to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to money laundering after prosecutors established she sold nearly 3,000 fake nursing diplomas through two schools she controlled, allowing unqualified individuals to sit for national licensing exams and enter the nursing workforce. The plea came after a two-week trial in which prosecutors presented dozens of exhibits, including forged diplomas and transcripts. Nearly 2,300 people who obtained fraudulent documents from Noreus went on to obtain nursing licenses and work in the field across the country, court records show.
Carleen Noreus, 52, of South Florida pleaded guilty this week to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to money laundering after prosecutors established she sold nearly 3,000 fake nursing diplomas through two schools she controlled, allowing unqualified individuals to sit for national licensing exams and enter the nursing workforce. The plea came after a two-week trial in which prosecutors presented dozens of exhibits, including forged diplomas and transcripts. Nearly 2,300 people who obtained fraudulent documents from Noreus went on to obtain nursing licenses and work in the field across the country, court records show.
Scheme Ran Seven Years Across Two Schools
Noreus, herself a registered nurse since 2002, ran the scheme from April 2018 through October 2025, according to prosecutors. She served as president of Carleen Home Health School, Inc., in Plantation, Florida, and as vice president of Carleen Home Health School II, Inc., in West Palm Beach. Both institutions, each bearing her name, were subsequently shut down by state authorities.
The fraudulent documents — which included diplomas and transcripts for entry-level nurses, registered nurses, and bachelor's-level nurses — gave recipients the appearance of completed coursework required to sit for the national nursing board examinations, prosecutors said. No actual nursing training was provided.
Co-Conspirator Named; Backdated Records Used to Conceal Closures
In a statement of facts Noreus signed as part of her plea, she identified Stanton Witherspoon, president of Carleen Home Health School II, as a participant who paid her to falsify credentials. Noreus also admitted to backdating transcripts issued to students so the records would appear to predate the state's termination of her schools, prosecutors said.
Noreus was one of 13 defendants charged in the second phase of Operation Nightingale, a federal investigation targeting fraudulent nursing diploma mills. The first phase of the operation concluded in 2023 with 30 defendants charged and convicted.
Sentencing Exposure and Federal Response
Noreus faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on each count. Jason A. Reding Quiñones, the U.S. attorney for Florida's southern district, said in a statement that nursing licenses must be earned through education, training, and demonstrated competence, and that the defendant undermined the integrity of the nursing profession and the broader healthcare system by selling thousands of fraudulent credentials. Quiñones added that the district remains committed to holding accountable those who profit by corrupting professional licensing processes and placing the public at risk. A sentencing date was not included in available court records.