FBI Nabs Nwaokwu Nigerian Medical Doctor For Multimillion-Dollar Fraud

FBI Nabs Nwaokwu Nigerian Medical Doctor For Multimillion-Dollar Fraud

Patrick Nwaokwu, a Nigerian medical practitioner, has been arrested by the FBI for his role in a multimillion-dollar healthcare fraud scheme.

iexclusive News Nigeria reports that Mr. Nwaokwu, 50, was apprehended on July 9, just 24 hours after the United States obtained an arrest order on July 8.

According to court documents obtained by Peoples Gazette, the medical doctor and his associates, Musa Bangura and Johannah Napoleon are charged with “conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud; conspiracy to commit false statements relating to health care matters, and false statements relating to health care matters.”

The trio was accused of selling forged transcripts and certificates that listed courses and grades that ineligible persons allegedly took.

The nurses went on to work in a variety of Maryland healthcare settings.

The FBI obtained evidence in 2019 that Messrs Nwaokwu and Bangura were creating illicit transcripts and credentials through a privately held nursing school (Nursing School 1) in northern Virginia, according to the affidavit.

“From August 8, 2008, to June 30, 2013, Nursing School 1 was a nursing school in Virginia until it was shut down by the Virginia Board of Nursing for breaching specific state rules.

“After that time, Nwaokwu and Bangura continued to run Nursing School 1 illegitimately as a site where individuals could easily acquire illicit LPN transcripts and certifications that were backdated to June 30, 2013,” according to the 35-page document.

“Each transcript alleges that the student completed 1,700 hours of nursing study before graduating from Nursing School 1,” the statement stated.

The Nursing School 1 students paid between $6,000 and $18,000 for their transcripts and credentials, according to the document.

The bogus degrees were obtained by two different FBI undercover operations in 2020, and about 175 of Nwaokwu’s nursing graduates have applied to the Maryland Board of Nursing.

The arrest of Mr. Nwaokwu and his associates adds to the growing list of Nigerians in the FBI’s crosshairs for different corruption investigations.

Bidemi Rufai, a former adviser to the governor of Ogun, Instagram star Abbas Rahmon a.k.a Hushpuppi, and famous business entrepreneur Obinwanne Okeke are among the notable Nigerians currently facing charges in the United States for huge Internet fraud.