To ensure patient safety and protect their brand, healthcare employers should always verify the credentials and education of the nurses and other staff they hire.
Did you know that more than 7,600 people obtained fake nursing diplomas from three schools in Florida, and 2,600 went on to work as nurses without proper education or training?
This shocking story has led many healthcare organizations to question how they might spot fake degrees and avoid hiring unqualified, inexperienced, and untrustworthy medical staff who could endanger patients.
At iprospectcheck, we conduct thousands of background checks for healthcare organizations across the U.S. each month and have extensive experience verifying the credentials and education applicants report on resumes and applications.
This article outlines how to identify fake nursing diplomas and other types of fraudulent degrees.
Florida Schools Issued Fake Nursing Diplomas
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General(HHS-OIG), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and other law enforcement agencies conducted a widescale investigation into aspiring nurses obtaining fake nursing school transcripts and diplomas from three Florida schools.
Between 2016 and 2021, the three colleges issued more than 7,600 false transcripts to aspiring nurses who never attended classes, completed clinical rounds, or did anything necessary to obtain real diplomas and credentials.
The fake transcripts and diplomas allowed the prospective nurses to sit for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for nurses, and 2,600 of those who received fake nursing diplomas from the three schools passed.
This resulted in a few thousand people without proper education or training to work as registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), or vocational nurses (VNs) for unsuspecting healthcare organizations across the U.S.
The three schools involved in the scheme included the following:
- Siena College – Broward County, Florida
- Palm Beach School of Nursing – Palm Beach County, Florida
- Sacred Heart International Institute – Broward County, Florida
All three schools had been regionally accredited but had lost their state certifications because of excessive failure rates on the NCLEX by program graduates.
The owners and operators of the three schools began selling fake transcripts and diplomas for thousands of dollars each to aspiring nurses and backdated them to make it appear as if the holders had graduated from the programs when the schools were still certified.
The dragnet resulted in 25 people being charged with multiple felony offenses in federal court by the U.S. Department of Justice and the permanent closure of all three schools involved in the massive fraud scheme.
What Is a Diploma Mill?
The U.S. Department of Education reports that diploma mills are fraudulent, unaccredited schools that issue false degrees and diplomas to individuals in exchange for money when the recipients didn’t attend classes that would normally be required to earn the credentials.
These schools sell diplomas and degrees unsupported by quality education, and the recipients of fake degrees don’t have the experience or education needed to perform the work required for their positions.
Some of these institutions claim accreditation from fraudulent accrediting organizations or agencies to convince potential students and employers of their legitimacy.
Diploma mills target their efforts toward people who lack education but want to advance their careers or improve their prospects. They also prey on employers who fail to properly vet the educational backgrounds and credentials of job candidates.
The problem of diploma mills is not limited to healthcare. Instead, no industry is immune.
Some examples of people who obtained jobs with fake diplomas include:
- A CEO of a Florida healthcare organization who earned $650,000 with a fraudulent Master’s degree from a diploma mill
- A Kansas high school principal whose Master’s and Ph.D. degrees were exposed as fraudulent by student reporters
- A cyber-crime police detective who used a fake degree to work as an officer for more than three decades and as an adjunct faculty member at a university
The Dangers of Fake Nursing Degrees
Since nurses play a critical role in the delivery of healthcare, people with fake nursing degrees create a high degree of risk for patients, hospitals, nursing homes, and doctors’ offices that hire them.
Here are some of the prominent dangers posed by fake nursing degrees:
1. Risks to Patient Health
Patients who receive care from someone with a fake nursing degree have a heightened risk of serious injury.
Nurses who lack the requisite education and experience obtained through clinical during school are unlikely to provide quality treatment meeting the expected standard of care.
If a patient sustains injuries because of the substandard care provided by a fake nurse, the healthcare facility that employs the fake nurse could face negligent hiring and medical malpractice lawsuits.
2. Destruction of Trust People Have for Their Providers
The provider-patient relationship depends on trust. Unfortunately, the recent nursing diploma scandal could lead to the destruction of trust many people have in the medical system and the providers that deliver care.
The loss of trust could result in patients failing to follow their provider’s recommendations, exacerbating their medical conditions.
3. Loss of Respect for the Nursing Profession
Many people view nurses as honest and deserving of respect since they dedicate themselves to caring for patients when they suffer from injuries and medical conditions.
When people with fake nursing degrees work in hospitals and other healthcare facilities, they are likely to provide substandard care that can cause patients to lose the respect they might have for the nursing profession.
A loss of respect for the profession could result in fewer people deciding to pursue this career at a time when there are already large shortages of nurses.
4. Damage to Your Reputation
If you hire someone with a fake nursing degree who provides substandard care, your organization could suffer reputational harm and cause patients to seek treatment elsewhere.
5. Increased Liability Risks
Neglecting to verify the authenticity of a nurse’s degree could potentially expose your organization to legal action for negligent hiring, especially if the fraudulent nurse causes harm to patients.
6 Telltale Signs of a Fake Nursing Diploma
Fake degrees can be difficult to identify. Many diploma mills have authentic-appearing websites and claim accreditation from an accrediting agency.
However, there are some telltale signs to watch for when you’re trying to confirm the validity of an applicant’s degree.
1. Out-of-Sequence Education
People obtain education in a specific sequence, beginning with a high school diploma or General Equivalency Diploma (GED) followed by an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree, and then any graduate or doctoral degree.
If a candidate claims to have obtained diplomas or degrees outside of the normal progressions, you should treat that as a red flag.
2. Lack of Accreditation from a Recognized Agency
Many diploma mills claim to be verified, authenticated, or accredited by an agency that is not recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).
You can check the list maintained by CHEA of recognized regional and national accrediting agencies.
The U.S. Department of Education also maintains a list of accredited colleges and universities in the U.S.
3. Degree Earned too Quickly
A telltale sign that a diploma might be fake is if it was earned too quickly.
Associate’s degrees typically take two years. Bachelor’s degrees take two to four, Master’s degrees take one to two, and doctoral degrees can take four years or longer.
If an applicant claims to have earned a degree in a couple of months or multiple degrees in a short time frame, this might indicate the degree might be fake.
4. Soundalike Names
Some diploma mills sell degrees from fraudulent institutions with names that are similar to real universities and colleges.
You should check the address of the institution against that of a well-known university or college with a similar name.
If the claimed institution is located in a different state than the well-known school, further investigation will likely be needed.
5. Degree from a Different State or Country than Where the Applicant has Lived
If the university or college is located in a state or country in which your applicant has never lived, this can be a sign that the degree might be from a diploma mill.
You can check to see if the school is accredited as a distance-learning program. If not, the degree is possibly fake.
6. No Staff or Faculty Listed
Diploma mills might have impressive-looking websites, but they often won’t have any faculty or staff listed.
If there are staff and faculty listed on the school’s website, they might claim to have degrees from schools that have accreditation from unrecognized agencies.
Know Before You Hire
What Should Be Included in Nursing Background Checks?
Nursing background checks should be comprehensive and thorough because of the important role nurses fill within healthcare organizations.
Most employers request the following searches on nursing background checks:
- Identity verification/Social Security number (SSN) trace
- Employment verification
- Education verification
- Professional license verification
- National sex offender registry search
- County, state, and national criminal records searches
- System of Awards Management (SAM) check through the General Services Administration
- Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) check
- FACIS check
- Lab-based drug screen
Let’s take a look at what might appear on these background checks.
Identity Verification/SSN Trace
An SSN trace is a starting point for employment background checks and reveals additional searches that might need to be performed.
On an SSN trace, the following information will be reported:
- Date the Social Security Administration (SSA) issued the number
- The SSN’s validity
- State in which the number was issued
- Date of birth of the individual who was issued the number
- Addresses associated with the SSN
- Names and aliases associated with the SSN
Employment Verification
Employment verification reveals the following information about an applicant’s past jobs:
- Name/address of employer
- Dates of employment with each company
- Positions and titles
Education Verification
Education verification shows the following information about the schools an applicant attended:
- Name and address of each school
- Dates of attendance
- Degrees conferred
Sex Offender Registry Search
A sex offender registry search reveals whether an applicant is currently registered as a sex offender.
In some states, convictions older than a certain number of years can’t be reported. If you are located in one of those states, conviction information for the underlying crime for which registration is required might not be reported.
If an applicant is registered as a sex offender, a sex offender registry search will show the following information:
- State in which the person is registered
- Names and aliases used
- Registered address
- Physical descriptors
If the sex crime can be reported, you’ll also see this additional information:
- Offense type
- Date of offense
- Offense level (felony/misdemeanor)
- Disposition
- Disposition date
- Sentence
Professional License Verification
Professional license verification reveals the following information about an applicant’s license:
- Date of issuance
- License number
- Type of license
- Expiration date
- License validity
- Sanctions or discipline
Criminal History
For an applicant with a reportable conviction or pending case, a criminal records check reveals the following information:
- Case number
- Offense date
- Type of offense
- Severity of offense (misdemeanor or felony)
- Whether the offense has been disposed of
- Disposition (if available)
- Date of disposition (if available)
- Sentence
SAM Check
The General Services Administration (GSA) maintains the SAM database, which includes a list of excluded individuals who have been barred from participating in federal contracts.
Excluded individuals can’t participate in federal contracts or work for organizations with federal contracts.
OIG Check
The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) operates the list of excluded individuals/entities (LEIE).
Healthcare organizations are prohibited from hiring excluded individuals if the organizations have federal contracts with Medicare, Medicaid, or Tricare.
FACIS Check
FACIS checks involve checking a series of regularly updated databases. Employers can choose Level 1 or Level 3 FACIS checks.
A Level 1 check includes the following information sources:
- OIG LEIE
- U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) Specially Designated Person list
- Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
- Tricare
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- Medicare Opt-Out
- State debarment lists
- State sanctions lists
- Notices and releases from state attorney general offices
FACIS Level 3 searches include all of the above-listed searches plus sanctioning boards in every U.S. state and territory, U.S. Attorney General offices, state attorney general offices, HEAT task forces, and others.
Lab-based Drug Screen
A lab-based drug screen reveals whether an applicant has recently used any of the following substances:
- Opiates
- Marijuana/THC
- Phencyclidine (PCP)
- Cocaine
- Amphetamines/methamphetamines
How to Verify Nursing Credentials and Education
Healthcare organizations verify nursing credentials and education in one of two primary ways, including taking a do-it-yourself approach or partnering with a reputable background check company like iprospectcheck.
Do-it-Yourself
Some healthcare organizations attempt to complete nursing background checks themselves.
They might research the school online, check accreditation, contact the school, and ask the applicant to supply proof they earned the degree.
Pros
- Free
Cons
- Difficulty verifying the information provided by a school
- Risk of hiring someone with a fake degree
- Potential liability risks involved with making a bad hiring decision
- Might mix similar names up
- Information might not comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and other laws
- Might miss some information sources that should be searched
- Could take a long time
Partnering With iprospectcheck
Because of the potential liability risks, most healthcare organizations choose to partner with reliable background check providers like iprospectcheck.
Our team has proprietary databases that help us report unaccredited schools that are believed to be diploma mills.
Pros
- Verification of the validity of a reported degree and completion of the required coursework
- Greater confidence in hiring decisions
- Legally compliant background checks
- Verification of an applicant’s identity
- Fast turnaround times
Cons
- Cost, but they’re extremely cost-effective
Talk to iprospectcheck for Help With Verifying Applicants’ Credentials and Degrees
Applicants with fake nursing degrees could threaten patient safety and your organization’s reputation.
As a healthcare employer, you must ensure the applicants you hire are fully qualified and have the right education and experience for their jobs.
At iprospectcheck, we conduct in-depth background checks, including license verifications and education verifications, for healthcare employers across the U.S.
Contact us today to learn more about our background screening services and receive a free quote: (888) 509-1979
DISCLAIMER: The resources provided here are for educational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Consult your counsel if you have legal questions related to your specific practices and compliance with applicable laws.
