Woman Pleads Guilty to Selling Fraudulent Nursing Diplomas

A South Florida woman admitted guilt in a case involving the sale of nearly 3,000 fake nursing diplomas. Carleen Noreus, aged 52, reached a plea agreement following a two-week trial. Prosecutors presented several pieces of evidence, including fraudulent diplomas and transcripts given to individuals lacking proper nursing training, according to court records reviewed by Fox News Digital.

Jason A. Reding Quiñones, the U.S. attorney in Florida’s southern district, stated, Nursing licenses must be earned through education, training, and demonstrated competence, not purchased through fraud. He emphasized that selling fraudulent diplomas undermines the integrity of the nursing field and healthcare system. Quiñones added that the Southern District remains committed to holding accountable those who compromise professional licensing processes and endanger the public.

Noreus, a registered nurse since 2002, sold the falsified diplomas from April 2018 to October 2025, as noted by prosecutors. These documents allowed recipients to take national nursing board examinations without proper education. Records indicate almost 2,300 individuals who obtained diplomas or transcripts from Noreus secured licenses after passing board exams and subsequently worked as nurses nationwide.

The two schools that Noreus established to facilitate diploma sales bore her name and have since been closed by state authorities. She served as the president of Carleen Home Health School, Inc., in Plantation, and vice president of Carleen Home Health School II, Inc., in West Palm Beach. Her endeavors were halted when the state ceased operations at her institutions.

Prosecutors disclosed Noreus collaborated with others in this extensive, long-term scheme. In a signed statement, she acknowledged working with Stanton Witherspoon, president of Carleen Home Health School II, who compensated her to falsify diplomas for nurses at various levels.

Noreus also conceded to backdating transcripts to suggest degrees were conferred before the schools’ closure. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to money laundering, with each count possibly resulting in a maximum 20-year prison sentence.

Noreus was among 13 defendants charged during the second phase of Operation Nightingale, a national investigation targeting fraudulent nursing diploma operations. The initial phase, concluded in 2023, culminated in 30 defendants being charged and convicted.