AdventHealth University nursing dean faces embezzlement charges
A top nursing educator recently hired by AdventHealth University is accused of embezzling more than $400,000 from her previous employer in Minnesota and siphoning it to her boyfriend’s business.
Laura Jean Fero, 54, joined AdventHealth University as dean of nursing in August of last year, according to a news release. University officials declined to comment on her current employment status.
“AdventHealth University does not comment on private personnel matters or pending legal matters,”
Jennifer Audette, a spokeswoman, said in a prepared statement Tuesday.
Fero, an Apopka resident, faces six counts of theft by swindle stemming from her tenure as dean of nursing at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota, according to a criminal complaint filed Friday in Ramsey County, Minnesota.
The complaint alleges Fero steered St. Catherine University contracts to her boyfriend Juan Ramon Bruce, 56, and his health care consulting company, JB & Associates LLC, with “little or no services” provided. The contracts from August 2020 to August 2023 totaled $412,644, according to a police review.
“The evidence suggests that Fero and Bruce were explicitly working together to take money from the university by abusing Fero’s position of trust and authority,” the charging document alleges.
St. Catherine University discovered the loss after Fero left her position on Aug. 28, 2023, and moved to Florida, according to the complaint. She was arrested May 8 shortly after she arrived at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport on a flight from Orlando, court records show.
In an interview with police, Fero initially told investigators she met Bruce from a cold call regarding medical supplies but then said she met him on the dating website “elitesingles.com,” the complaint states. Regarding Bruce’s contracts with St. Catherine, she told investigators she thought her employer’s conflict-of-interest policy only applied to married couples.
Her boyfriend is also facing charges for his role in the alleged scheme, court records show. Fero did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. A phone number associated with her name was disconnected.
As dean of nursing for AdventHealth University, Fero was placed in charge of all undergraduate and graduate nursing programs, according to a press release at the time of her hire.
With locations in Orlando, Denver, and Tampa, AdventHealth University offers a wide range of nursing education, and degree programs including an Associate of Science in Nursing, a three-year accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing, an RN-BSN program, a Doctorate in Nurse Anesthesia Practice, and a Doctorate in Nursing Practice.
