Home Health & Hospice Week

The feds are prosecuting cases.

If you’re one of the many employers that is asking employees about their vaccination status — and especially if you’re requiring it — be on the lookout so you don’t get scammed by counterfeit cards.

After arresting a homeopathic doctor in California for furnishing fake COVID-19 vaccination cards (see HCW by AAPC, Vol. XXX, No. 29), authorities have arrested a Chicago pharmacist for a similqar crime. In March and April of this year, Tangtang Zhao sold 125 authentic CDC vaccination cards to 11 different buyers for about $10 per card, the Department of Justice says in a release.

Zhao was a licensed pharmacist in Illinois employed by a pharmacy that distributed and administered COVID-19 vaccines at its physical locations nationwide, the DOJ says. Zhao “obtained and subsequently offered authentic CDC vaccination cards for sale online,” according to prosecutors. An indictment charges Zhao with 12 counts of theft of government property.

“We take seriously, and will vigorously investigate, any criminal offense that contributes to the distrust around vaccines and vaccination status,” Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. says in the release.

“Stealing and selling COVID-19 vaccination cards is inexcusable and will not be tolerated,” HHS Office of Inspector General Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III says in the release.