2 Charged In Separate COVID-19 Vaccine Card Frauds

DETROIT — Two Metro Detroit residents were arrested Wednesday for their roles in separate frauds relating to COVID-19 vaccination cards, Acting United States Attorney Saima S. Mohsin said.

Bethann Kierczak, 37, of Southgate was charged with theft of government property and theft or embezzlement related to a healthcare benefit program.

Rapheal Jarrell Smiley, 32, of Detroit was also arrested and charged with fraud involving department or agency seals, identity document fraud and trafficking in counterfeit goods.

Both are scheduled to make court appearances Wednesday afternoon.

"Regardless of whether an individual choses to get vaccinated, we urge everyone to avoid turning to schemes like these to evade vaccination requirements," Mohsin said. "Importing these cards is a crime. Selling these cards is a crime. We will continue to investigate these crimes and prosecute them accordingly."

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Kierczak is a registered nurse and is accused of stealing authentic COVID-19 vaccination cards from the VA hospital and then reselling them to individuals within the metro Detroit community, according to a news release.

She is also accused to have begun this scheme as early as May and sold the cards for $150-$200 each, primarily on Facebook Messenger, according to the news release.

On the other hand, Smiley is accused of buying fake COVID-19 vaccination cards from China and selling them on his Facebook and Instagram accounts, according to the news release.

Special Agent in Charge Gregg Hirstein of the VA Office of Inspector General joined Mohsin in the announcement and said, "We hope these cases deter others who may be tempted to obtain or use fictitious or stolen vaccination cards. Since the matter of public health is so important the VA Office of Inspector General will continue to devote resources to these cases whenever and wherever they arise."