Leaders of college degree scam linked to 127 CT nurses got $7M to recruit students, records show

CT Insider – Tuesday, June 10, 2025
By Lisa Backus

The leaders of a national nursing school scam that impacted several states, including Connecticut, made millions in kickbacks for recruiting students to pay for fake degrees, federal documents show.

At least three of the defendants charged in the scheme have been required to pay more than $7 million in restitution — money they received for recruiting or accepting students to their schools to illegally obtain a nursing diploma and fake transcripts, federal sentencing documents said.

More than 7,500 fake diplomas were issued nationally to people who were able to gain licenses in at least six states and Washington, D.C. that were tied to Operation Nightingale — a massive federal investigation of nearly two dozen nursing schools in Florida and elsewhere that are alleged to have provided fraudulent diplomas and transcripts. Many of the schools are now closed, authorities said.

At the same time, disciplinary boards for nurses have been reviewing the cases involving those who obtained licenses to practice as registered nurses and licensed practical nurses in their states, officials said.

According to Connecticut officials, the state Board of Examiners for Nursing has either revoked or sought the voluntary surrender of the licenses of 58 people. The state Department of Public Health investigators are also investigating 69 more people connected with the fraudulent activity at the schools.

The scam was already running at some Florida for-profit nursing schools in 2018 when Eunide Sanon, the owner of the Siena Education Center, agreed to give Staton Witherspoon, a New Jersey student who was looking for a low-cost way to finish his nursing degree, half interest in her venture, according to federal documents connected to their indictments on wire fraud charges.

Witherspoon told federal investigators that he never had access to the Siena Education Center’s finances, even though he owned 50% of the school, but he was paid more than $3.5 million for recruiting other students who wanted to get their nursing degrees quickly, court documents said.

Witherspoon and others recruited students to Sanon’s school — and nearly two dozen others, mostly in Florida — with the lure of receiving a nursing diploma, and in some cases altered transcripts, that made it appear they had taken the required number of classes and clinical hours, his sentencing documents said.

Witherspoon and Sanon agreed to provide federal prosecutors with detailed information on how the scheme worked, and named others who were participating, documents said. They pleaded guilty to federal charges within months of being indicated in January 2023, court documents showed.

Witherspoon’s attorney contended in a sentencing document that while his client recruited students who paid for diplomas that didn’t fulfil the requirements of a nursing degree, he did not falsify any documents. He was required to pay $3.5 million in restitution, court documents said.

“Mr. Witherspoon knew the students were receiving false diplomas and transcripts from Siena College (in Florida),” his attorney said in the sentencing document. “However, Mr. Witherspoon did not participate in the creation or distribution of those documents to state licensing boards and potential employers.”

Sanon’s sentencing document called Witherspoon the “ringleader” in the scheme and said he approached her about recruiting students for the scam. Her attorney said Witherspoon introduced the idea of charging students for fake diplomas and transcripts, “promising this was not a problem as he had been performing the same criminal scheme in another venture” with Med-Life Institute.

Sanon closed her school in 2021, her attorney said in the document. She and Witherspoon parted ways in 2020 after a disagreement, the attorney said.

The two, and several others, received between 27 and 50 months of federal prison time to settle the federal indictments, records show. Sanon is required to pay $1.2 million in restitution. At least one other defendant who was indicted as part of Operation Nightingale was required to pay more than $3 million in restitution, court documents show.

The fake degrees allowed the students to take the National Council Licensure Examination known as NCLEX, for registered nurses, federal authorities said. Passing the exam is required before a nurse can seek a license and employment, according to Dawn Kappel, director of marketing and communications for the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, which worked with state boards and federal authorities to identify the fraud cases.

Many obtained work after they passed the test using the fake credentials, including transcripts that listed courses they never took, federal court documents said.

The Florida schools that were indicted starting in early 2023 were all for-profit entities that were not always providing the required number of classroom or clinical training for nursing, potentially putting the public at risk, federal documents and Kappel said.

The ramifications of the scam rippled through several states, requiring each state or regional nursing board that oversees the discipline of nurses to handle the cases in their own way, Kappel said.

More cases were being added as recently as February, federal court records show. The most recent Connecticut action tied to Operation Nightingale occurred last Wednesday when the Board of Examiners for Nursing suspended the license of Althea Rosemarie Grant McLean, who obtained her nursing degree from Carleen Health Institute in Florida, whose owner was indicted by federal authorities in February.

Carleen Noreus, owner of Carleen Health Institute, is accused of money laundering and wire fraud, which authorities allege was committed when she sent fraudulent documents, including diplomas and transcripts, to potential employers indicating people had finished the requirements for a degree when they hadn’t, federal documents said. The other indictments issued in early 2023 describe similar fraud schemes.

“Health care fraud is nothing new to South Florida, as many scammers see this as a way to earn easy, though illegal, money,” Chad Yarbrough, acting Special Agent in Charge Chad of the FBI’s Miami bureau, said in a news release announcing the indictments in January 2023. “What is disturbing about this investigation is that there are over 7,600 people around the country with fraudulent nursing credentials who are potentially in critical health care roles treating patients. Were it not for the diligence and hard work of the investigators on this case, the extent of this fraud may not have been discovered.”

Those who have been indicted since January 2023 include:

Eunide Sanon, owner Siena College, Florida
Stanton Witherspoon, of Burlington County, N.J.
Alfred Sellu, of Burlington County, N.J.
Rene Bernadel, of Westchester County, N.Y.
Gail Russ, of Broward County, Fla.
Cheryl Stanley, of Collier County, Fla.
Krystal Lopez of Palm Beach County, Fla.
Ricky Riley, of Broward County, Fla.
Norberto Lopez, of Palm Beach County, Fla.
Damian Lopez, of Palm Beach County, Fla.
Francois Legagneur. of Nassau County, N.Y.
Reynoso Seide, of Union County, N.J.
Cassandre Jean, of Palm Beach County, Fla.
Yelva Saint Preux, of Suffolk County, N.Y.
Evangeline Naissant, of Nassau County, N.Y.
Rony Michel of Monmouth County, N.J.
Vilaire Duroseau, of Essex County, N.J.
Yvrose Thermitus, also known as “Yvrose Thompson,” of Union County, N.J.
Carleen Noreus, owner of Carleen Health Institute, Florida

Others indicted with no address listed in court documents:

Charles Etienne
Ludnie Jean
Serge Jean
Simon Itaman
Anna Itaman
Rhomy Louis
Nadege Auguste

The Florida schools alleged to have been involved in the scam, according to Washington nursing officials, include:

Carleen Health Institute
Carleen Home Health School II
Ideal Professional Institute, Inc.
Jay College of Health LLC
Med-Life Institute – West Palm Beach
Med-Life Institute of South Florida
Med-Life Institute School of Nursing
Palm Beach School of Nursing
Quisqueya Health Care Academy
Quisqueya School of Nursing
Sacred Heart International Institute Inc.
Siena College of Health
Siena College of Health II LLC
Siena Education Center LLC
Sigma College
Sigma Institute of Health Careers
Sunshine Academy
Techni-Pro Institute
The Enfimye Institute

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