Hearing Officer Stacy Shulman opened a regulatory hearing in the matter of the Department of Public Health v. Albertsa Dafinis and admitted multiple exhibits into the record as the Department sought revocation of Dafinis's nursing license.

The Department, represented by attorney Joelle Newton, said a notarized affidavit from Joel Lubin, the operator of Ideal Institute, and other investigative materials show Dafinis "has not in fact completed the required program hours and clinical training necessary to obtain a nursing associate of science" and therefore "should not be having a nursing license," Newton told the hearing officer.

Attorney Bridal Wallace, representing the respondent, countered that Dafinis is "a victim of fraud," saying she completed the majority of her classes and clinical instruction at legitimate schools and has worked in nursing for five years. "She did not send anything fake or fraudulent to the state," Wallace said, and argued that the respondent transferred substantial credits from prior coursework.

The hearing officer entered into the record: the statement of charges (dated 10/02/2025), the respondent's answer (10/30/2025), a summary suspension order (10/15/2025), a five'page investigative report, affidavits (including Lubin's), a Connecticut nursing licensure file (partly sealed), and respondent documents that included several sealed pages. Counsel disputed the relevance of a manager's evaluation and an untimed copy of an online exam; the hearing officer allowed the evaluation with limited weight and admitted the online exam as respondent Exhibit E after considering the Lubin affidavit and the parties' arguments.

On direct examination, Dafinis testified she holds an LPN from Lincoln Technical Institute and attended Saint Vincent's College full time from 2016 to 2018 but did not complete the registered nursing degree because she failed one class and the school would not allow her to retake it. She said she later attended Ideal (the transcript also refers to "Bridal" Professional Institute) and took one class there, transferring credits from Saint Vincent's.

Department counsel emphasized Lubin's affidavit, which states that from about 2016 to 2025 individuals residing outside Florida who were issued associate of science diplomas from Ideal/Bridal Professional Institute did not complete required program hours and clinical training. Respondent counsel said the student (Dafinis) was unaware the school was a scam and seeks to explain how she discovered it and why she believed her credentials were legitimate.

The parties disagreed about the probative value of an untimestamped copy of an online exam submitted by the respondent; the Department pointed out the copy lacks a date, grade or verification, while respondent counsel said it is the only documentation available to show the course was taken. The hearing officer admitted it into the record as Exhibit E but noted its evidentiary limits.

Before further testimony, the Department requested — and the hearing officer ordered — an executive session to discuss transcript matters and stopped the public recording. The hearing was moved into a private Teams room for that discussion.

The hearing record now contains the entered exhibits and sworn testimony from the respondent; the matter remains under adjudication and the panel proceeded to executive session to review transcript-related issues and evidence admissibility.