Trying to evade the forceful vaccine mandate that is currently required for all hospital and nursing home staffers in New York City, a bunch of medical workers bought bogus vaccine cards from a New Jersey woman who goes by the name AntiVaxMomma on Instagram.
Jasmine Clifford, of Lyndhurst, New Jersey, was charged Tuesday with offering a false instrument, criminal possession of a forged instrument, and conspiracy. Authorities stated that she sold about 250 fake vaccine cards in recent months at $200 per piece. Her target audiences? New York City-area jab dodgers, including people working in hospitals and nursing homes.
Source: US News (AP)
Consorting with another fellow scammer, Clifford used to issue fake vaccine cards to buyers, followed by which the second scammer would enter a bogus card buyer’s name into a New York state vaccination database, which feeds systems used to verify vaccine status at places they’re required, such as concerts and sporting events.
As it stands, Clifford’s alleged co-conspirator, Nadayza Barkley, of Bellport, Long Island, did not enter a plea an arraignment in the Manhattan criminal court on charges of offering a false instrument and conspiracy. Barkley entered at least 10 names into the state’s vaccine database while working at a Patchogue medical clinic and received payments for her work from Clifford through the services Zelle and CashApp.
Apart from the two fraudsters, thirteen alleged card purchasers have also been charged for the crime.
In response to the entire incident, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. called on Facebook, the parent company of Instagram, and other tech companies to crack down on vaccine card fraudsters, saying in a statement “the stakes are too high to tackle fake vaccination cards with whack-a-mole prosecutions.”
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