[ad_1]
A licensed homeopathic doctor in California was arrested today for his alleged plan to sell homeoprophylactic vaccination lozenges and forge COVID-19 vaccination cards into believing customers received the Food and Drug-cleared Moderna vaccine United States Administration (FDA).
Juli A. Mazi, 41, of Napa, is charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of misrepresentation related to health care matters. This is the first federal prosecution for criminal fraud related to homeoprophylactic vaccinations and fraudulent vaccination cards from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19.
“This defendant allegedly defrauded and endangered the public by attacking fears and spreading misinformation about vaccinations authorized by the FDA, while peddling bogus treatments that put people’s lives at risk. Worse yet, the defendant allegedly created counterfeit vaccination cards against COVID-19 and asked its customers to falsely mark that they had received a vaccine, allowing them to bypass efforts to contain the spread of the disease ”, said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “The Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners are committed to protecting the American people from fraudsters during this national emergency. This commitment is evident in this lawsuit as well as in the ongoing work of the ministry and our partner agencies in the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force established by the Attorney General earlier this year. ”
According to court documents, in April 2021, an individual filed a complaint with the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-OIG) hotline that family members had purchased Mazi COVID-19 homeoprophylactic vaccination lozenges. The complainant said family members told him Mazi said the lozenges contained the COVID-19 virus and would create an antibody response in the immune system. The complainant reported that his family had not received injections of any of the three COVID-19 vaccines approved by the FDA. However, as part of the delivery of the homeoprophylactic vaccination lozenges, Mazi sent COVID-19 vaccination cards, with Moderna listed, to the complaining family. Mazi allegedly asked the complaining family to mark the cards for falsely stating that she received the Moderna vaccine on the date she ingested the COVID-19 homeoprophylactic vaccination lozenges.
“To meet the challenges presented by COVID-19, we must trust our healthcare professionals to provide sound information and advice,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Stephanie Hinds for the Northern District of California. “According to the complaint, instead of disseminating valid remedies and information, Juli Mazi took advantage of the illegal sale of unapproved remedies, stoking false fears and generating false evidence of vaccination. We will act to preserve confidence in the medical developments that allow us to emerge from the problems posed by the pandemic. “
According to court documents, Mazi offered homeoprophylactic vaccines for childhood illnesses that she said would meet California schools’ vaccination requirements, and forged vaccination cards that were submitted by parents to California schools. Homeoprophylaxis involves exposing an individual to dilute amounts of a disease, purportedly to boost the immune system and confer immunity. Mazi allegedly incorrectly claimed that oral ingestion of granules containing small amounts of COVID-19 would result in complete lifelong immunity to COVID-19.
“This doctor has violated the overriding public trust in medical professionals – at a time when integrity is most needed,” said Special Agent in Charge Steven J. Ryan of the Department of Health and Human Rights. Social Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS -BIG). “By working closely with our law enforcement partners, our agency will continue to investigate these fraudsters who recklessly endanger public health during the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis. ”
The affidavit alleges that Mazi used the COVID-19 pandemic to expand the pre-existing vaccination program by selling vaccination lozenges that it fraudulently claimed, in written documents and consensually-controlled records, would provide “immunity to life against COVID-19 ”. Mazi explained that the lozenges contained “a very minute amount of this [COVID-19] disease ”that can cause“ infectious symptoms ”of COVID-19 or“ automatically report[] the attention of the immune system, inducing immunity. To encourage customers to buy the lozenges, Mazi allegedly exploited misinformation and fear by falsely claiming that FDA-cleared COVID-19 vaccines contain “toxic ingredients.” Mazi further stated that its customers could supply the granules to children for COVID-19 immunity, and that “the dose is actually the same for babies.”
“Spreading inaccurate or false medical information about COVID-19 for personal gain, as the complaint alleges, is dangerous and only arouses public skepticism,” said Special Agent in Charge Craig D. Fair of the FBI Field Office in San Francisco. “As the government continues to work to provide current and accurate information to help slow the spread of COVID-19, the FBI will continue to prosecute those who attempt to fraudulently profit from the dissemination of false information and the provision of false information. documents.
Mazi has also provided its customers with CDC COVID-19 immunization cards with instructions on how to fraudulently complete the cards to falsely believe that a client has received two doses of the Moderna vaccine. As part of its program, Mazi provided customers with specific Moderna vaccine lot numbers to put on cards and instructions on how to select the alleged dates they had received Moderna vaccines to evade suspicion.
The San Francisco regional office of the HHS-OIG and the FBI field office in San Francisco are investigating the case.
Trial Lawyer Sridhar Babu Kaza of the National Rapid Response Force of the Criminal Division Fraud Section and United States Assistant Attorney Christiaan Highsmith of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California continue the case.
The case was brought in coordination with the COVID-19 Interagency Working Group of the Health Care Fraud Enforcement Unit, which is chaired by the National Rapid Intervention Strike Force and is organizing efforts to combat illegal activities involving health care programs during the pandemic.
The Fraud Section leads the Healthcare Fraud Enforcement Force. Since its inception in March 2007, the Health Care Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 15 strike forces operating in 24 federal districts, has indicted more than 4,200 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program nearly $ 19 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase liability and reduce the presence of fraudulent providers.
In May, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Enforcement Task Force to mobilize resources from the Department of Justice in partnership with government agencies to strengthen efforts to combat and prevent fraud related to the pandemic. The Working Group strengthens efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable national and international criminal actors and assists agencies responsible for administering relief programs to prevent fraud, among other methods, by scaling up and integrating mechanisms coordination, identifying resources and techniques for uncovering fraudulent actors and their programs, and sharing and leveraging information and knowledge gained from previous enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https: //www.justice. gov / disaster-fraud / ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
The Fraud Section uses the Victim Notification System (VNS) to provide victims with case information and updates related to that case. Victims who have questions can contact the Victim Assistance Unit of the Fraud Section by calling the Victim Assistance hotline at 1-888-549-3945 or by sending an email to Victimassistance. [email protected]. To learn more about victims’ rights, please visit: https://www.justice.gov/criminal-vns/victim-rights-derechos-de-las-v-ctimas.
A criminal complaint is only an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
[ad_2]
Source link