Source: United States Department of Justice News
DETROIT – A registered nurse from the Veteran’s Hospital in Detroit, pleaded guilty yesterday to charges related to Covid-19 Vaccination Record Cards fraud, announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.
Joining in the announcement were Special Agent in Charge Gregory Billingsley with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Central Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Mario Pinto of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) – Chicago Region.
Pleading guilty was Bethann Kierczak, 37, of Southgate. The plea took place before United States District Judge David M. Lawson. Kierczak pleaded guilty to theft of government funds.
According to court records, Kierczak admitted to stealing or embezzling authentic Covid-19 Vaccination Record Cards from the VA hospital—along with vaccine lot numbers necessary to make the cards appear legitimate—and then reselling those cards and information to individuals within the metro Detroit community. Kierczak’s theft of Covid-19 Vaccination Record Cards began at least as early as May 2021 and continued through September 2021. Kierczak sold the cards for $150-$200 each and communicated with buyers primarily via Facebook Messenger.
“The defendant abused her position of trust as a medical provider to line her own pockets and sell fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination cards,” said U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison. “My office is committed to protecting the citizens of Michigan from individuals who used the global pandemic as an opportunity to commit fraud as evidenced by this case and many other prosecutions we have brought against those that have used this national crisis as an opportunity to commit crimes.”
“Stealing and selling fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination cards threatens the safety of VA medical center patients and employees as well as the general public,” said Special Agent in Charge Gregory Billingsley with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Central Field Office.
“For personal enrichment, this nurse committed fraud using COVID-19 vaccination record cards, which undermined public health measures during the pandemic and violated the all-important trust the public extends to healthcare professionals,” said Special Agent in Charge Mario M. Pinto of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Working closely with our law enforcement partners, our agency will continue to investigate those who recklessly and intentionally disregard efforts to protect the health of those in our country.”
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ryan A. Particka. The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs-Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG), VA Police Detroit and the Medicare Fraud Strike Force (MFSF) partners, a partnership among the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney’s Offices, and U.S. Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.