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A naturopathic doctor is the first person to face federal charges for selling fake COVID-19 vaccine cards.
Juli Mazi of Napa, Calif., Is accused of forging COVID-19 vaccine cards to indicate that customers received the two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Moderna, the Department of Justice said in a press release.
Mazi is charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of misrepresentation related to health care matters.
Prosecutors allege that someone notified the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, saying family members bought Mazi “vaccination lozenges” claiming to create an antibody response to the drug. COVID-19.
Along with the lozenges, Mazi sent COVID-19 vaccination cards with Moderna listed, and told them to write the day they ingested the lozenges on the card.
Mazi allegedly claimed that oral ingestion of the lozenges with small amounts of COVID-19 would result in complete and lifelong immunity to the disease. She falsely claimed that COVID-19 vaccines on the market contain “toxic ingredients.”
Prosecutors allege that Mazi had an existing system of selling vaccination tablets and manufacturing vaccination records.
According to a criminal complaint, it would offer childhood disease vaccines claiming to meet the state of California immunization requirements for schools.
The complaint alleges that Mazi received more than $ 221,000 between January 2020 and May 2021 from 1,242 transactions on Square. Most of the transactions did not include a description of what they were, but 25 of the payments totaling $ 7,600 were for COVID-19 treatments.
Mazi faces 20 years in prison for wire fraud and five years for misrepresentation. Each charge also carries a fine of up to $ 250,000 and a three-year supervised release.
Genuine COVID-19 vaccine cards from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are being given out free to people who get vaccinated, although officials have warned of a huge market for fake cards.
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