Upper Marlboro Man Sentenced For Selling Fake Nursing Diplomas, School Transcripts
Ejike Asiegbunam, 55, ended up receiving $1.6 million through the scheme where he and others also helped those who purchased fake nursing diplomas to obtain false nursing licenses. Asiegbunam owned and operated Nursing School 2, which was not licensed to offer LPN degrees. Many students received nursing degrees from Nursing School 2 without attending labs, classes or completing required clinical assignments.
According to court documents, between approximately January 2018 and June 2021, Asiegbunam and his co-conspirators recruited potential purchasers in Maryland and elsewhere who were wanting to obtain nursing degrees. Asiegbunam sold purchasers false and fraudulent Nursing School 2 documents that Asiegbunam signed as the owner of Nursing School 2. Students paid Asiegbunam and others to complete required prerequisites to enter the nursing program at Nursing School 2. Asiegbunam generally charged purchasers between $15,000 and $22,000 for fake Nursing School 2 documents. Asiegbunam also generally charged approximately $5,000 to complete online prerequisites.
Between February 2018 and December 2018, Asiegbunam conspired with Johanah Napoleon, who lived in Florida, to sell fake nursing degrees from Palm Beach School of Nursing in Florida to individuals located in Maryland and New York. Asiegbunam sent student grades from Maryland to the registrar for the Palm Beach School of Nursing in Florida via interstate wire and in exchange would receive transcripts purportedly from the Palm Beach School of Nursing - despite the individuals not attending the school. When Asiegbunam sold a student a degree from Palm Beach School of Nursing, the student paid the school directly and the school, in turn, paid Asiegbunam 40 percent of the tuition as payment for recruiting the student. In total, Asiegbunam received approximately $272,400 from the Palm Beach School of Nursing, court documents showed.
A judge has sentenced Asiegbunam to 21 months in federal prison followed by two years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He also must forfeit $1,662,732 that he personally received as a result of the fraud.
