Iowa Board of Nursing & Other State Nursing Boards React to the Fake Diploma Scheme
The Iowa Board of Nursing (“Board”) is aware of the United States Department of Justice’s
investigation and allegations of 7,600 fraudulently issued nursing diplomas from Florida and elsewhere.
To date, the Board has revoked 2 Iowa licenses. Several other licenses are under investigation. The Board has received no reports of patient harm related to the identified individuals of concern. This is a complex investigation because of the federal and state-level concerns, and that the nursing programs involved, all of which were in other states (not Iowa), at one time held legitimate credentials. The Board is and has been taking the appropriate actions to protect Iowans related to this matter. If credentials are fraudulent, the Board can revoke or deny licensure, after providing due process to the individual involved.
The Iowa Board of Nursing has recognized individuals identified by the federal investigation as possibly having illegitimate educational credentials, and are flagged in the National Council of State Boards of Nursing nationwide data system. This means that all state boards of nursing, including Iowa’s, can monitor the individuals until their case is resolved. Once a disciplinary action has been taken by one state board of nursing related to diploma fraud, all the other state boards of nursing will have access to that information in order to prevent additional fraud.
We will continue to partner with other boards of nursing, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, and federal law enforcement authorities, as appropriate, to detect, investigate, and resolve these allegations of diploma and credential fraud.
It should be noted that Board investigations are confidential pursuant to Iowa Administrative Code 655, Chapter 20, 20.18 (Iowa Code 272C).
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