Homeland Security agents intercept counterfeit COVID-19 vaccine cards headed to Idaho
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Jacob Scholl, Idaho Statesman
BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — Federal officials want to remind people that making fake coronavirus vaccine cards is a crime.
The Department of Homeland Security agents in Seattle recently intercepted a shipment of counterfeit COVID-19 vaccine cards bound for Idaho, according to a tweet from the field office.
“Maderna or anyway you spell it, making counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination cards is a federal crime!” the field office said in a tweet.
Maderna or anyway you spell it, making #counterfeit #COVID-19 vaccination cards is a federal crime! #SeattleHSI agents, working with @CBP have intercepted these cards shipped to the U.S. and then sent to Idaho. #fakecard #realcrime pic.twitter.com/uRwzq5nGeA
— HSI Pacific Northwest (@HSISeattle) September 1, 2021
Seattle Homeland Security agents and the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol reportedly intercepted the phony vaccine cards being shipped into the United States.
The cards were bound for Idaho, though Homeland Security did not specify where in the Gem State the counterfeit cards were headed.
In a statement to the Idaho Statesman, Special Agent in Charge Robert Hammer — who oversees all Homeland Security Investigations operations in the Pacific Northwest — said specific charges for this case will be determined by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Hammer added that the matter is still under investigation.
“What is important for the public to know is that purchasing these or any counterfeit items is a waste of money, and there will be legal consequences for presenting them in place of real vaccination cards,” Hammer said in a statement. “There are multiple federal statutes on the books that have already been used in charging individuals at the federal level for partaking in these fake COVID vaccination card schemes. ”
Earlier this week, an Illinois woman was arrested in Hawaii after she tried to use a fake vaccine card to bypass the state’s strict quarantine measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Authorities raised suspicion when they noticed her COVID-19 vaccine card misspelled “Moderna” as “Maderna,” according to Hawaii News Now, a local news outlet.