VERO BEACH, FLORIDA – An investigation by the Vero Beach Police Department has uncovered a case of organized fraud that saw victims scammed out of nearly $100,000 by a fraudulent medical training school.
The police department received complaints in July 2022 from multiple individuals who claimed they were deceived into enrolling at Grace Med Training, located at 1456 Old Dixie Hwy in Vero Beach. Owned and operated by Michelle Hudson (now Michelle Wimes), the training facility offered courses including CPR, home health aide, medical assistant, phlebotomy, CNA, and a practical nursing program.
However, the majority of complaints came from students of the practical nursing program, which charged over $5,000. Graduates of the program were unable to take the NCLEX exam required to become licensed nurses because the school was neither approved nor accredited.
Investigators from the Vero Beach Police Department, in collaboration with the Commission for Independent Education, executed a search warrant at Grace Med Training, seizing numerous documents and confirming that neither Hudson nor the school were licensed to provide medical training. The investigation found that more than 30 victims paid for fraudulent medical training, resulting in a total reported loss of approximately $93,895.
Michelle Hudson (Wimes) was served with an arrest warrant for organized fraud exceeding $50,000 and was taken into custody on October 18, 2022. She was later released on $30,000 bond.
The Vero Beach Police Department is urging anyone who believes they may have been a victim of Grace Med Training to come forward and contact Detective Kyle Eder at (772) 978-4665 or keder@vbpd.org.
If you like this article, please share it.