Leaders of college degree scam linked to 127 Connecticut nurses got $7 million to recruit students, records show

Federal documents reveal leaders of a nationwide nursing school scam, including those connected to 127 Connecticut nurses, collected over $7 million in kickbacks for recruiting students to obtain fake nursing diplomas. The scheme, part of Operation Nightingale, involved issuing more than 7,500 fraudulent diplomas across multiple states, allowing unqualified individuals to pass nursing licensure exams and work in healthcare. Connecticut’s Board of Examiners for Nursing has revoked or is seeking surrender of 58 nursing licenses tied to the fraud, while 69 others remain under investigation.

Ed Histed

Ed launched his radio career in 1975 and has spent more than five decades in the broadcasting industry. During that time, he has served in a wide range of roles including Air Personality, News Director, Sales Manager, Operations Manager, and General Manager at numerous radio stations in various markets across the country. Beyond on-air and management responsibilities, Ed has also worked extensively on the technical side of broadcasting. His background includes RF engineering and information technology, with particular experience configuring digital automation systems and remote voice-tracking platforms used by stations across the country. Ed was also among a select group of industry professionals invited by Google to its California headquarters following the company’s acquisition of Scott Studios. He was one of just 12 broadcasters nationwide chosen to participate in discussions and provide input during the design and rollout of Google’s digital broadcast automation platform. Although the majority of Ed’s career—spanning roughly four decades—was rooted in music radio, he transitioned into news and information programming in 2012. He says the move into spoken-word broadcasting was a natural evolution after decades of experience in multiple areas of the industry.