Northern California naturopathic doctor admits selling fake COVID-19 vaccine cards
SAN FRANCISCO — A naturopathic doctor in Northern California pleaded guilty Wednesday to selling fake COVID-19 immunization treatments and hundreds of fraudulent vaccination cards that made it seem like customers received Moderna vaccines, federal prosecutors said.
Juli A. Mazi, 41, of Napa, pleaded guilty in federal court in San Francisco to one count of wire fraud and one count of false statements related to healthcare matters, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement.
The case was the first federal criminal fraud prosecution related to fraudulent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccination cards for COVID-19, the department said.
Mazi provided fake CDC vaccination cards to at least 200 people with instructions on how to complete the cards to make them look like they had received a Moderna vaccine, federal prosecutors said.
A 60-year-old German allegedly received up to 90 COVID vaccine doses in order to sell vaccination certificates to people unwilling to get inoculated.
She also sold homeopathic pellets she fraudulently claimed would provide “lifelong immunity to COVID-19.â€
She told customers the pellets contained small amounts of the coronavirus and would create an antibody response, they said.
“This doctor violated the public’s trust and reliance on healthcare professionals — during a time when integrity was needed most,†said Asst. Atty. Gen. Kenneth A. Polite Jr. “Instead of providing sage information and guidance, Mazi profited from peddling unapproved remedies, stirring up false fears, and generating fake proof of vaccinations.â€
Mazi also offered the pellets in place of childhood vaccinations required for attendance at school and sold at least 100 fake immunization cards that said the children had been vaccinated, knowing the documents would be submitted to schools, officials said.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services last week issued an alert about coronavirus testing and vaccination scams.
Federal officials opened an investigation against Mazi after receiving a complaint in April 2021 to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General hotline.
Mazi is scheduled to be sentenced July 29.
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