The short answer is yes, you can get in trouble for purchasing a fake COVID-19 vaccination card under federal and New York State Laws. With the federal government and several states passing vaccine mandates or vaccination requirements in order to partake in indoor dining or college attendance, individuals are resorting to purchasing a fake COVID-19 vaccination card to escape those requirements.

What Are Fake COVID-19 vaccination cards?

Fake COVID-19 vaccination cards are cards that are not issued by Centers of Disease Control, but are rather cards that look very similar to the genuine cards. The fake COVID-19 vaccination cards have blanks for the recipient’s name and birthdate, vaccine maker, lot number and the date and place the shot was administered. Similar to the genuine COVID-19 cards, the fake vaccination cards hear the Centers for Disease Control logo in the upper-right corner.

How Can You Spot the Difference Between a Legitimate and a Fake COVID-19 Vaccination Card?

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has identified misspellings as the most common way to identify fake COVID-19 vaccination cards. As U.S. Customs and Border Protection stated in their press release, the following are common tell-tale signs that the COVID-19 vaccination cards are counterfeit:

• Typos,
• Unfinished words,
• Spanish verbiage on the back misspelled.

What Laws Apply to Selling and Purchasing a Fake COVID-19 Vaccination Card?

Selling or purchasing a fake COVID-19 vaccination card is a crime under both New York State and federal law. Importantly, the sale, purchase, or possession of a counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination card is enough for someone to be criminally charged. There is no requirement that the prosecutors establish that an individual got COVID-19 or passed away as a result of a particular person’s use of a counterfeit vaccination card.

Federal Criminal Laws Applicable to Selling or Purchasing a Fake COVID-19 Vaccination Card

There is no federal law that specifically applies to selling, filling in or purchasing a fake COVID-19 vaccination card. However, many of the federal laws can be used to prosecute sales or purchases of counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination cards. Specifically, some relevant federal statutes are:

• Wire Fraud
• Mail Fraud
• Unauthorized Use of a Official Government Agency’s Seal

Wire Fraud

Wire Fraud is codified in 18 United States Code §1343. This statute prohibits devising or attempting to device a scheme or artifice to defraud or to obtain money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses by using wire communications. Wire communications applies to wire, radio, television communications in interstate or foreign commerce as well as any writings, signs, signals, pictures or sounds for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice.

If the sale or purchasing of a fake COVID-19 vaccination card involves, the use of wires, then the conduct can be criminally charged under the federal wire fraud statute. Specifically:

• Communicating or arranging the sale via email;
• Transmitting the money via bank transfer, Zelle, Venmo or any similar payment platforms;
• Advertising sales of counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination cards via social media or websites.

Penalties for Federal Wire Fraud

Wire Fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000. The exact sentence will depend on the calculations of federal sentencing guidelines.

Mail Fraud

The federal mail fraud statute is very similar to the federal wire fraud statute. It is codified in 18 United States Code §1341, but requires the use of the mail, rather than the use of the wires. Mail does not necessarily need to be the U.S. Postal Service. It can be any commercial mail carrier.

Selling and purchasing of a fake COVID-19 vaccination card can be prosecuted under the federal mail fraud statute, if a commercial mail carrier is used. For example, if the cards are transmitted via USPS, FedEx, UPS or another mail carrier, the sales of counterfeit COVID-19 cards can be prosecuted under the federal mail fraud statute.

Penalties for Federal Mail Fraud

Mail Fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000. The exact sentence will depend on the calculations of federal sentencing guidelines.

Government Seals Wrongfully Used and Instruments Wrongfully Sealed

Another federal criminal charge that can be used to prosecute the sales and purchases of fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination cards is the Government Seals Wrongfully Used and Instruments Wrongfully Sealed. This statute is codified in 18 U.S.C. § 1017. The statute provides:

Whoever fraudulently or wrongfully affixes or impresses the seal of any department or agency of the United States, to or upon any certificate, instrument, commission, document, or paper or with knowledge of its fraudulent character, with wrongful or fraudulent intent, uses, buys, procures, sells, or transfers to another any such certificate, instrument, commission, document, or paper, to which or upon which said seal has been so fraudulently affixed or impressed, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

18 U.S.C. § 1017

Simply put, it is a crime to knowingly use a seal of a federal agency on a document and use, buy, sell, or transfer such document with wrongful or fraudulent intent.

New York State Criminal Laws Applicable to Selling to Purchasing a Fake COVID-19 Vaccination Card

In addition to violating federal laws by selling, purchasing or possessing a fake COVID-19 vaccination card, an individual may be charged under New York State criminal laws for such conduct. Specifically, the following New York criminal charges can apply to purchases and sales of fake COVID-19 vaccination cards:

• Forgery,
• Offering a False Instrument for Filing, AND
• Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument.

These charges are explained in greater detail below.

New York State Forgery

Creation of fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination cards can be prosecuted under New York State Forgery laws. In New York, there are three different forgery charges. Specifically, they are:

• Forgery in the First Degree,
• Forgery in the Second Degree, AND
• Forgery in the Third Degree.

Forgery in the First Degree is the most serious of the New York forgery charges and involves the creation of the counterfeit documents that are issued by the government i.e. currency, stamps. Similarly, creation of counterfeit COVID-19 cards can be charged as Forgery in the First Degree, and the vaccination cards are government-issued documents.

Creation of Counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination cards can also be charged as Forgery in the Second Degree, which requires that the forged document be a written document issued by the a public office or a governmental instrumentality. Additionally, creation or fake COVID-19 vaccination cards can be charged as Forgery in the Third Degree, which simply requires that the document be a written document.

Penalties for New York State Forgery Charges

Depending on the level of forgery charged, the creation of the fake COVID-19 vaccination cards is punishable by a wide range of sentences – from no jail time up to 15 years.

New York Offering a False Instrument for Filing

Another charge that can be used in prosecuting sales and purchases of fake COVID-19 vaccination cards is Offering a False Instrument for Filing. There are two different Offering a False Instrument for Filing charges under New York State Law. Specifically, they are:

• Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, AND
• Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the Second Degree.

Both charges involve offering a written instrument for filing with a governmental agency, with knowledge that the document contains a false statement or false information. Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree also requires knowledge or belief that the document will be filed, recorded or become part of official government records. Thus, if you knowingly present a fake COVID-19 card in an effort to obtain a New York Excelsior Pass, you can be charged with both Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree and in the Second Degree.

Penalties for New York Offering a False Instrument for Filing

Under New York Penal Law, Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the Second Degree is a Class “A” Misdemeanor. As such, this charge is punishable by up to 1 year in jail. Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree is a Class “E” felony, which is punishable by up to 1 1/3 to 4 years in jail.

Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument

Under New York Law, knowing possession of a forged instrument is a crime. That is, if you knowingly possess a fake COVID-19 vaccination card, you can be charged with Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument. There are three different Criminal Possession of Forged Instrument Charges in New York:

• Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the First Degree,
• Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, AND
• Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Third Degree.

All three charges can be brought against an individual charged with selling or purchasing a fake COVID-19 vaccination card.

Penalties for Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument

The least serious of these charges is Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Third Degree, which is a Class “A” Misdemeanor. As such, this charge is punishable by up to one year in jail. The most serious of these charges is Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the First Degree, which is a Class “D” non-violent felony. As such, this charge is punishable by up to 15 years in jail.

Examples of Fake COVID-19 Vaccination Card Cases Brought

Although fraudulent COVID-19 cards are being imported into the United States in large amounts on pretty much a daily basis, prosecutions for selling or purchasing a fake COVID-19 vaccination cards are just starting. The following cases have been brought by state and federal prosecutors:

• Hawaii – two travelers from the mainland face up to one year in prison and up to $5,000 in fines after allegedly falsifying vaccination cards in an effort to avoid 10-day quarantine for unvaccinated people;
• Illinois – a Chicago pharmacist was indicted by a federal Grand Jury for stealing 125 official COVID vaccination cards and then selling them on eBay for about $10 each.
• New York – a New Jersey woman was charged in Manhattan Criminal Court for selling forged COVID-19 vaccination cards via instagram.

Contact Us Top Rated Criminal Defense Attorneys for Further Assistance

If you have further questions about whether you can get in trouble for purchasing a fake COVID-19 vaccination card or believe you are under investigation for making such a purchase, please contact us to schedule your initial consultation.