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Digital Vision | ThinkStock
File this one under “weird news of the week.”
Consumerist.com is reporting on a recent court case in which three defendants were charged with creating fake nursing schools, enrolling students and earning $1 million in tuition over five years.
Read on for more on the situation and trial…
Here are some excerpts from the article:
“When you scam wannabe nurses out of more than a million dollars by selling them a fake education, you have to expect you’ll get caught at some point. But that didn’t stop three women in New York from operating a number of bogus nursing school programs in NYC and Long Island.
According to NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office, between April 2006 and Feb. 2011, the three defendants and their co-conspirators operated a network of fake schools in Brooklyn and Nassau County on Long Island.”
It continues…
“Students, mostly from lower-income backgrounds, paid tuitions ranging from $7,000 to $20,000 and would attend classes for anywhere from 10 months to two years. But when they finished, the documents they received — sometimes issued in the names of a school in Jamaica (the island nation; not the neighborhood in Queens) — were fraudulent…
‘Contrary to what they were told, the students who paid for and participated in the programs were not eligible to take the Nursing Board Exam or become LPNs or RNs,’ reads a statement from the AG’s office.”
And concludes…
‘These defendants set up a fraudulent get-rich-quick scheme by targeting people hoping to pursue new opportunities. They lined their own pockets with their victims’ hard earned money, and are now facing significant jail time,’ Attorney General Schneiderman said. ‘We thank the jury for their service. Their verdict sends a clear message to anyone looking to profit from fraud: You will be brought to justice.'”
Read the entire story here, then tell us what you think in the comments below. How would you react if you found out that your hard-earned nursing degree was fraudulent?
