Maryland Man Sentenced For Selling Fraudulent Nursing Diplomas, Transcripts And Nursing Licenses

The Honorable Deborah L. Boardman sentenced Ejike Asiegbunam, age 55, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland to 21 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Judge Boardman also ordered Asiegbunam to forfeit $1,662,732 that Asiegbunam personally received as a result of the fraud.

The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General.

According to Asiegbunam’s plea agreement, Asiegbunam conspired with others to sell fraudulent nursing diplomas and educational transcripts to individuals (“purchasers”), and assisted the purchasers in fraudulently obtaining nursing licensure, which the purchasers needed to obtain employment in the healthcare field.  Asiegbunam owned and operated Nursing School 2, which was not licensed to offer LPN degrees.  In addition, many students received RN degrees from Nursing School 2 without attending labs, classes, or completing required clinical assignments.

Specifically, between approximately January 2018 and June 2021, Asiegbunam and his co-conspirators recruited potential purchasers in Maryland and elsewhere who were looking to obtain nursing degrees.  Asiegbunam sold purchasers false and fraudulent Nursing School 2 documents, which Asiegbunam signed as the owner of Nursing School 2.  In addition, 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 false and fraudulent Nursing School 2 documents.  Asiegbunam also generally charged approximately $5,000 to complete online prerequisites.  In total, Asiegbunam sold false and fraudulent Nursing School 2 documents in exchange for at least $1,390,332.

In addition, between in or around February 2018 and December 2018, Asiegbunam conspired with Johanah Napoleon, who resided in Florida, to sell false and fraudulent RN degrees from Palm Beach School of Nursing, located in Florida, to individuals located in Maryland and New York.  Asiegbunam would send 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.

By providing false and fraudulent documents, Asiegbunam and his co-conspirators assisted the purchasers of the false and fraudulent documents to obtain fraudulent nursing licenses from state licensing agencies, including the Maryland Board of Nursing, and ultimately employment in the healthcare field.  The scheme thus allowed individuals who had not completed the necessary coursework to apply for licensure and to practice as nurses.  The scheme therefore exposed patients in Maryland and elsewhere to potential harm and Asiegbunam and his co-conspirators consciously and recklessly exposed these patients to the risk of death or serious bodily injury.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI and the HHS-OIG for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes, who is prosecuting the federal case.

If you have information to report regarding this case or any other case involving falsified medical degrees, please call the FBI hotline: (410) 277-6999.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.