A federal judge sentenced a Salt Lake City man to 12 months in prison, 3 years of probation, and a $40,000 fine for counterfeiting Covid-19 vaccine cards.
Nicholas Frank Sciotto, 34, pleaded guilty to printing and selling over 120,000 of the fake CDC cards during the height of the pandemic, when proof of vaccination was required by some employers and to get into some places.
Sciotto wholesaled many of the fake cards for $7.50 to $10.00 each, which were then resold on the black market for $50 to $100 each.
He got a local print shop to make the cards by falsely telling the printer he worked for a local hospital and was authorized to produce them. He then advertised on Facebook that “I know someone selling legit vacc (sic) cards cheap for people who don’t want to partake in a science experiment.”
Sciotto wasn’t doing anyone a service, nor acting out of misguided beliefs about the vaccine; he did it for profit. The Department of Justice said Sciotto “made more than $400,000 in profit” (read story here).
The Covid-19 vaccinations weren’t a science experiment; they saved lives of people who contracted the virus, and helped prevent its spread. Widespread resistance to the vaccines was enflamed by false conspiracy theories and rightwing propaganda.