CA Father And Son Arrested With Fake Vaccine Cards In Hawaii

LOS ANGELES, CA — Two Angelenos were arrested in Hawaii after they were caught with fake vaccine cards to bypass the island's travel requirements, authorities said.

Father and son Norbert Chung, 57, and Trevor Chung, 19 of Pacific Palisades attempted to use the falsified documents at Honolulu's Daniel K. Inouye Airport, according to multiple reports.

The pair violated the state's Safe Travels program, which was instated by Gov. David Ige to require all unvaccinated travelers from the U.S. to require a 10-day quarantine in Hawaii. Vaccinated visitors are not required to quarantine.

Agents from the Department of the Attorney General arrested the two men after a community member sent investigators a tip before they arrived in Honolulu, USA Today reported.

Both men could face a year in prison and/or a fine of up to $5,000, officials said. The two were arraigned Thursday, USA Today reported.

"We've been pretty aggressive in enforcing and prosecuting those violators that we have become aware of," Ige said at a briefing last week. "We have pursued quarantine violations. We do have a case where we had travelers forging vaccination records that we've filed charges against."

In May, the 59-year-old owner of a small-town bar in California's Central Valley, Todd Anderson, was arrested after he was accused of selling fake coronavirus vaccination cards this week.

It was the first case of its kind reported in the Golden State.

"It is disheartening to have members in our community show flagrant disregard for public health in the midst of a pandemic," San Joaquin County District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar said. "Distributing, falsifying or purchasing fake COVID-19 vaccine cards is against the law and endangers yourself and those around you."

The FBI has warned the public that selling fake vaccination cards with a government logo on them is a crime.