Utah doctor allegedly destroyed vaccines, gave fake shots to children
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SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC4) – A Utah plastic surgeon, his neighbor, and two others are facing charges after allegedly giving people fake vaccination cards and destroying government-provided COVID-19 vaccinations.
Dr. Michael Kirk Moore Jr., 58, and his neighbor, Kristin Jackson Andersen, 59, have been charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to convert, sell, convey, and dispose of government property, conversion sale, conveyance, and disposal of government property and aiding and abetting.
The Plastic Institute of Utah Inc., along with office manager Kari Dee Burgoyne, 52, and receptionist Sandra Flores, 31, faces the same charges.
According to court documents, Moore and his co-defendants allegedly ran a scheme out of Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah Inc. to defraud the United States and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The documents say Moore and Andersen were members of a private organization seeking to “liberate the medical profession from government and industry conflicts of interest.”
In the allegations, the four destroyed at least $28,000 worth of COVID-19 vaccinations and distributed at least 1,900 doses’ worth of fake completed vaccination record cards. The court documents allege the fake vaccination cards were sold either for direct cash payments of $50 per person per occurrence or required “donations to a specified charitable organization.”
The court documents estimate the fake vaccination cards have a total value of nearly $97,000.
Moore and his co-defendants also allegedly gave children saline shots at the request of their parents so the children would think they were receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.
“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,” said Special Agent in Charge with the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General Curt L. Muller.
The defendants are scheduled for their initial appearance in court on Jan. 26 at 2 p.m.