Iowan whose nurse’s license was revoked for fraudulent diploma gets a new license

A man whose nursing license was revoked for knowingly purchasing a fraudulent diploma has been awarded a new license to practice in Iowa.

In January 2022, the Iowa Board of Nursing revoked the practical nurse’s license it had granted to Enome Massango of West Des Moines in 2018, as well as the registered nurse’s license it had granted him in 2021.

According to board records, Massango later admitted he had paid a man named Musa Bangura for transcripts and diplomas as a “short cut” to completing his education at schools that federal officials likened to a diploma mill.

According to the board, Massango acknowledged his educational program as a licensed practical nurse consisted of a single-day “review course.” Board records indicate Massango had to take the LPN exam twice, and the RN exam four times, before passing the tests. After obtaining his nursing license in Iowa, Massango spent four years working at various locations, including Valley View Village, an assisted living center and nursing home located in Des Moines.

The board concluded Massango had engaged in fraud when he knowingly purchased fraudulent documents in order to qualify for licensure in Iowa, adding that his case was “particularly egregious.” Massango, the board said, “received little to no classroom instruction and did not undergo any clinical training.”

When the board revoked Massango’s license in 2022, it stipulated that before he could apply for relicensure, he’d have to obtain the proper educational credentials and appear “before the board for a reinstatement hearing” to establish that his licensure was in the public interest.

Board records show that on April 11, 2024, the board voted to grant Massango a new registered nurse’s license authorizing him to resume practicing in Iowa. Massango said Friday he did not have to appear before the board and argue his case before the new license was issued.