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Utah man sentenced to prison for creating, selling fake COVID-19 vaccination cards

Oct 11, 2024, 8:20 PM

Nicholas Frank Sciotto poses next to piles of fake COVID-19 vaccination cards in 2021. The Salt Lak...

Nicholas Frank Sciotto poses next to piles of fake COVID-19 vaccination cards in 2021. The Salt Lake man was sentenced to a year in prison Thursday for selling over 120,000 of them during the pandemic. (U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services)

(U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services)

SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah man was sentenced for manufacturing and selling 120,000 counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination record cards across the United States in 2021.

On Thursday, Nicholas Frank Sciotto, 34, of Salt Lake City, was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, three years supervised release, and ordered by the court to pay a $40,000 fine after pleading guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States according to court documents.

In July, Sciotto admitted to defrauding the CDC by making fake vaccination cards and earning approximately $400,000 in profit in 2021, according to federal prosecutors.

Documents stated Sciotto made a fake badge under the guise of volunteering with a major COVID-19 testing company in Utah to trick a print shop worker into printing thousands of copies of vaccination cards.

More of the fake vaccination cards sold by Sciotto.

More of the fake vaccination cards sold by Sciotto. (U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services)

“On Facebook, Sciotto sold each card for $10 with a 10 card minimum per order, plus $5 for shipping and directed buyers to a mobile payment service to complete the transaction,” according to court documents.

Documents stated that Sciotto worked with Kyle Blake Burbage, 33, of Goose Creek, South Carolina, to distribute the cards. Burbage pleaded guilty in August 2023 and is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 29.

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Utah man sentenced to prison for creating, selling fake COVID-19 vaccination cards