Former nursing school owner sentenced to prison

The former owner of one of the Florida nursing schools involved in the fraudulent degree scandal will serve 21 months in prison.

Johanah Napoleon, the former owner and president of the Palm Beach School of Nursing, was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and wire fraud last year. In addition to her prison sentence, she was ordered to pay $3.5 million to the federal government, of which she has already paid $2.6 million.

Napoleon was one of 25 people indicted in January in connection with a wire fraud scheme that sold more than 7,600 fraudulent nursing degree diplomas at three nursing schools between 2016 and 2021. Students paid about $10,000 for a licensed practical nurse degree and $17,000 for a registered nurse diploma without obtaining the required training. Of those students, about 2,400 went on to pass their licensing exams and were able to obtain licenses and jobs in other states. Several states have rescinded licenses or issued administrative charges against those with bogus diplomas.

Source: Miami Herald