Utah plastic surgeon sold fake COVID vaccine cards for $97,000: feds
By Katherine Donlevy
January 21, 2023 9:42pm Updated
https://nypost.com/2023/01/21/utah-plastic-surgeon-sold-fake-vax-cards-for-cash-feds/?utm_source=NYPTwitter&utm_medium=SocialFlow&utm_campaign=SocialFlow
A Utah plastic surgeon took bribes from anti-vax parents to dole out fake COVID-19 jabs while destroying tens of thousands of dollars worth of real medicine, prosecutors allege.
Dr. Michael Kirk Moore Jr. allegedly injected some children with saline shots before sending them off with fake vaccination cards, Utah’s US State Attorney’s Office said.
Moore was indicted by a grand jury last week, along with two of his staffers and a neighbor who allegedly helped him carry out the plot.
“By allegedly falsifying vaccine cards and administering saline shots to children instead of COVID-19 vaccines, not only did this provider endanger the health and well-being of a vulnerable population, but also undermined public trust and the integrity of federal health care programs,” Curt L. Muller of the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement.
The foursome allegedly used Moore’s Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah Inc. office to run the scheme after Moore was authorized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to give out vaccinations.
In total, at least 1,900 doses’ worth of fake completed vaccination records were distributed for a profit of nearly $97,000.
According to an indictment obtained by The Post, Moore — a board-certified surgeon — and his neighbor Kristin Jackson Andersen are members of a secret organization that seeks to “‘liberate’ the medical profession from government and industry conflicts of interest.”
To carry out that goal, the pair teamed up with office manager Kari Dee Burgoyne and receptionist Sandra Flores to pour $28,000 worth of Covid-19 vaccinations down the drain with syringes, prosecutors allege.
The con artists allegedly crafted fake vaccination cards that they sold for $50 per person or for required “‘donations’ to a specified charitable organization.”
“Defendants also administered saline shots to minors — at the request of their parents — so children would think they were receiving a COVID-19 vaccine,” prosecutors said.
The team, as well as the medical office, was charged with conspiracy to defraud the US; conspiracy to convert, sell, convey, and dispose of government property; and conversion, sale, conveyance, and disposal of government property and aiding and abetting.
They will return to court Jan. 26.