Napa Doctor Sentenced To Prison For Selling Fake Vaccine Cards

NAPA, CA— A Napa naturopathic doctor who sold fake COVID-19 immunization treatments and vaccine cards during the height of the pandemic was sentenced on Tuesday to nearly three years in prison, federal prosecutors said.

According to the United States Attorney's Office, Juli Mazi pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of making false health care statements in April.

During Tuesday’s hearing, U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer handed down a sentence of 33 months, according to Joshua Stueve, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice.

“This doctor violated the public’s trust and reliance on health care professionals – during a time when integrity was needed most,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, according to the United States Attorney's Office.

Mazi provided fake Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 vaccination cards to at least 200 people with instructions on how to complete the cards to make them look like they had received a Moderna vaccine, federal prosecutors said.

The U.S. Department of Justice said the case is the first federal criminal fraud prosecution related to fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination cards.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.