A Napa homeopathic doctor is the first person in the U.S. to face federal charges for allegedly selling falsified COVID-19 vaccination cards and fake vaccines, according to the Department of Justice.
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Juli Mazi, 41, was arrested Wednesday and charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of false statements related to health care matters.
Prior to the pandemic, Mazi allegedly sold homeoprophylaxis immunization pellets to parents, claiming the treatment would satisfy California's immunization requirements for schools. Victoria Schwarz, a Special Agent in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, wrote in a sworn affidavit that Mazi "falsified, fabricated and altered" vaccination cards parents provided to schools.
Mazi "used the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to expand her pre-existing immunization scheme," according to the affidavit.
"This defendant allegedly defrauded and endangered the public by preying on fears and spreading misinformation about FDA-authorized vaccinations, while also peddling fake treatments that put people’s lives at risk," Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement.
This April, a complainant called the Health and Human Service Inspector General’s hotline, telling investigators that their family members purchased homeoprophylaxis immunization pellets from Mazi. She told the complainant that the treatment would provide "lifelong immunity" to COVID-19.
Mazi also provided COVID-19 vaccine cards, listing the Moderna vaccine as the product name and telling the complainant's family to fill in a day they were eligible for the injection as their first vaccination date, followed by one a month later for their second.
Nobody in the complainant's family received one of the COVID-19 vaccines authorized for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to the affidavit. Mazi allegedly claimed the approved vaccines claimed "toxic ingredients."
According to a phone call transcript, Mazi told the complainant in a phone call that "even though it's more than an ethical stretch that I'm happy about, I am just stepping up to the plate to offer these (vaccine cards)."
"Steering through the challenges presented by COVID-19 requires trust and reliance on our medical professionals to provide sage information and guidance," Stephanie Hinds, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, said in a statement. "According to the complaint, instead of disseminating valid remedies and information, Juli Mazi profited from unlawfully peddling unapproved remedies, stirring up false fears, and generating fake proof of vaccinations."
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