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A woman pleaded guilty this week to selling nearly 3,000 nursing diplomas through schools she owned and operated in South Florida.
Carleen Noreus, 52, took a plea deal after a two-week trial, in which prosecutors presented dozens of exhibits, including fake diplomas and documents issued to people who have not yet completed training to become registered nurses, according to court records reviewed by Fox News Digital.
“Nursing licenses should be obtained through education, training, and demonstrated competence, not by fraudulent purchase,” Jason A. Reding Quiñones, U.S. attorney for the southern district of Florida, said in a statement.
“By selling thousands of fake diplomas and documents, the defendant undermined the integrity of the nursing profession and our health care system,” Quiñones continued. “The state of South Florida remains committed to holding accountable those who profit by corrupting the professional licensing process and putting the public at risk.”
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President Donald Trump nominated Judge Jason Reding Quiñones to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida on Sunday. (Florida Courts)
Noreus, who has been a registered nurse since 2002, sold fraudulent diplomas from April 2018 to October 2025, prosecutors said. The documents he sold enabled these people to take nursing board exams without the need to attend nursing school, according to prosecutors.
About 2,300 people who received diplomas or certificates from Noreus obtained licenses by passing board exams and went on to work as nurses across the country, court documents said.
Both schools he founded as ways to sell diplomas were named after him and closed down by the state authorities. He was president of Carleen Home Health School, Inc., in Plantation and vice president of Carleen Home Health School II, Inc., in West Palm Beach.
A defunct nursing school in Plantation, Florida, Carleen Noreus used to sell fake diplomas. (carleenhealthinstitute.org)
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Prosecutors say Noreus collaborated with others in an extensive, multi-year scheme.
In a statement signed by Noreus on Monday, he said Stanton Witherspoon, the former president of Carleen Home Health School II, paid him to create diplomas for entry-level nurses, registered nurses and bachelor’s level nurses.
Additionally, Noreus admitted that he returned the transcripts given to students to make it look like they had received their degrees before his schools were shut down by the government.
Stock photo of a blue scrub nurse (Xavier Lorenzo)
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Noreus pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He faces up to 20 years in prison on each count.
Noreus was one of 13 defendants indicted in the second phase of Operation Nightingale, a nationwide investigation into fraudulent nursing degree industries. The first phase was completed in 2023, resulting in 30 defendants being charged and convicted.
