Use fake transcripts and go to jail!

Published

[h=2]Seven Plead Guilty to Forging Transcripts in Order to Become Nurses[/h]From CA BON:

SACRAMENTO - Seven people have plead guilty to charges of forgery for using fake transcripts to become licensed as Registered Nurses. All were arrested as a result of a multi-agency probe initiated by the Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) that involved the Division of Investigation (DOI), the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Juan Malaluan Tenorio, Jr. and Glyn Cordova Villegas of Kern County, James Quijano Leoncio of Orange County, Philip Tolentino Sarmiento, Laurence Viernes, German Zagada and Jude Dagza Leoncio of Los Angeles County applied for licenses to practice as Registered Nurses in California using false and forged nursing school transcripts from the Philippines. They now face up to three years in prison.

BRN licensing staff were instrumental in assisting with identifying the individuals involved and verifying they did not attend the nursing schools listed on applications for licensure.

"Protecting patient safety is the Board's top priority," said Louise Bailey, Executive Officer of the Board of Registered Nursing. "A nurse without the proper education could be dangerous to a patient."

The Board of Registered Nursing and the Division of Investigation worked with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Internal Revenue Services' Criminal Investigation Division to investigate and arrest the seven. An eighth individual Joanne Keeney, the suspected-ringleader, currently resides in the Philippines. There is a warrant for her arrest.

At the request of the Board of Registered Nursing, a Sacramento County Superior Court Judge ordered Juan Malaluan Tenorio, Jr., Glyn Cordova Villegas, Philip Tolentino Sarmiento, Laurence Viernes, German Zagada, Jude Dagza Leoncio, and James Quijano Leoncio not to practice as registered nurses.

The Board of Registered Nursing filed and served accusations against Juan Malaluan Tenorio, Jr., Glyn Cordova Villegas, Philip Tolentino Sarmiento, Laurence Viernes, Jude Dagza Leoncio and James Quijano Leoncio on May 16, 2014, and German Zagada on May 22, 2014 seeking revocation of their RN licenses.

All seven people are expected to be sentenced June 27, 2014.

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I knew this was going to happen and in some of my previous mentions I've always said, there will be possible time for using fraudulent paperwork that you will be caught and will be spending time inside a concrete "hotel" where there's little freedom to go and drive to get a cup of coffee any time of the day.

This will also apply to those of you who knows of friends, friend of a friend etc who not only used Recto documents (paperwork purchased from the streets of the PH) but also those "adjusting" their clinical and case studies to meet the concurrency rules.

I think that this is already in the works now. It will be obvious from those that graduated from the same school, same year, took the same courses together, but these "students-nurses" got their ATT in CA, but their friends were all denied the approval, it's coming so watch out when HR calls you in the office or there's an unwelcome knock at your place of residence with people that have handcuffs on their belt.

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I think for the ones accused, they may start to give out other names and known connections to the authorities to "lighten" their guilty sentences, maybe like for every name given they get 1 week less in jail.

I recall from the CA BRN minutes sometimes ago, CA BRN had some 137 possible suspects and I think there's more than that under investigation now.

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Specializes in Emergency Department.

It would not surprise me in the LEAST to learn that the BRN would be reviewing certain RN's transcripts during renewal time. It's an efficient way to review LOTS of people with minimal extra effort from staff.

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It would not surprise me in the LEAST to learn that the BRN would be reviewing certain RN's transcripts during renewal time. It's an efficient way to review LOTS of people with minimal extra effort from staff.

Yes, there had been some mentions that the CA BRN could start to cull the renewal process to further look further into those with degrees coming in from the Phils.

I would think they may put a license under review and or probation of some sort, give the renewal applicant so many years to comply (such as make up for any deficiencies or prove their case) to prevent their license from being suspended or revoked.

Such it's only a privilege, NOT a right to possess a nursing license, the CA BRN has the right, however, to enforce such an action. Any and all applicants must abide and comply with the application forms signed. Not signing mean no license will be granted and will be asked to return the license or face further legal actions.

We have already seen one poster from the Phils, who was recently granted a CA RN license via endorsement from another state, got a CA nursing job, only to have to turn in her license, due to possible educational deficiencies.

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Guys and gals, please do NOT send me any names or their license's number to me!! I don't know these individuals and it's NOT up to me to pass judgment nor accuse them without my knowledge of them. I immediately delete them.

Please do not post any names either!

Leave that part to the CA BRN investigators!!

If you do know or suspect someone with possible fraudulent activities or fake transcripts, please go thru the proper channels.

You can easily start by clicking on this CA BRN site under their Enforcement program and you do not have to give them your name: click HERE: Board of Registered Nursing - What is the Enforcement Program?

The Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) has the primary responsibility of licensing and regulating registered nurses in California. The BRN's responsibilities come from the Nursing Practice Act, which is composed of California statutes that give the BRN, among other functions, the authority to investigate complaints and take disciplinary action against registered nurses. These investigation and disciplinary functions are handled by the Board's Enforcement Program.

The Board of Registered Nursing's Enforcement Program staff work with health care consumers and health care professionals in identifying those registered nurses who have engaged in any activity which may be unsafe and which may put the public at risk.

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California Board of Nursing can't do anything to someone who isn't a Registered Nurse in that state.

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It seems that they all had been licensed from the California Board of Nursing.

Did they have a nursing degree at all?

How could they pass NCLEX if they were not trained/educated as nurses

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Specializes in Emergency Department.
California Board of Nursing can't do anything to someone who isn't a Registered Nurse in that state.

While this is true, it appears that everyone that was disciplined in some manner by the California BRN was licensed by/through the BRN, either by endorsement or through initial exam. Therefore the California BRN has jurisdiction to place sanctions upon the license they granted.

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Specializes in Emergency Department.
It seems that they all had been licensed from the California Board of Nursing.

Did they have a nursing degree at all?

How could they pass NCLEX if they were not trained/educated as nurses

They may have had a nursing degree and falsified their transcripts to show that they'd had all the requisite experiences (including concurrent theory/clinical components) when they actually hadn't. They may have gone mostly through Nursing School, failed out, falsified their records to show they did graduate. The end result is somehow, they managed to convince the BRN that they met all the requirements for initial licensure or endorsement and somewhere along the way managed to to pass the NCLEX.

Is the NCLEX difficult? Yes. Is there lots of study material that would allow someone to gain an idea how to pass the exam? Yes. Could someone with a sufficiently broad depth of knowledge and who has studied NCLEX questions figure out how to pass the exam? Yes.

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Specializes in ACNP-BC, Adult Critical Care, Cardiology.

Regarding that question on how such individuals could pass the NCLEX-RN, I've heard of "gossip" within the Filipino community about a number of physicians "fast-tracking" through nursing school in the Philippines and being granted a BSN with no effort whatosever. If this is true, these individuals would be able to answer pathophysiology and pharmacology related questions and could easily study the nursing lingo of NCLEX.

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I was told by an EDD employee that years ago, before computer testing, it was quite common for ringers to go in and pass the exam for others.

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Still waiting for a update to see if anyone does any jail time.

California Board of Nursing has a well known history for letting nurses whom has been fired, have history of incompetence, Drug theft, violence to go on working in California for many years.

I remember most of the member who make up the Cali BON of Nursing being fired a few years ago, I wonder if anything has changed in this corrupt state...

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