A woman in South Florida, Carleen Noreus, has admitted guilt in a case involving the sale of almost 3,000 fraudulent nursing diplomas. Court records indicate that during a two-week trial, prosecutors presented numerous pieces of evidence, including fake diplomas and transcripts given to individuals who had not completed the necessary training to become registered nurses.

Jason A. Reding Quiñones, the U.S. attorney for Florida’s southern district, emphasized that nursing licenses require proper education and training. He stated that Noreus’s actions compromised the integrity of the nursing field by selling fake credentials that allowed unqualified individuals to take the national nursing board exams.

Noreus, a registered nurse since 2002, was involved in this illegal activity from April 2018 to October 2025. The fraudulent documents she sold enabled many to qualify for the national board exams without attending nursing school. Court documents revealed that nearly 2,300 people received diplomas or transcripts from her and subsequently gained licenses after passing the exams, working as nurses nationwide.

State authorities shut down the two schools Noreus operated, named after her, which she used for this scheme. The schools were located in Plantation and West Palm Beach, Florida. She held leadership roles in both institutions, which were integral to the fraudulent diploma operation.

Noreus acknowledged collaborating with others in this scheme. She signed a statement of fact admitting that Stanton Witherspoon compensated her to create false diplomas for different nursing levels. She also falsified transcripts by backdating them to make it appear as if students graduated before the schools were closed.

Noreus faces charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to money laundering, each carrying a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison. She is one of 13 defendants in the second stage of Operation Nightingale, a nationwide investigation aimed at uncovering nursing diploma mills. The operation’s first phase ended in 2023 with 30 convictions.