NAPA, Calif. — Federal prosecutors have arrested and charged a naturopathic physician in Northern California accused of selling fake COVID-19 immunization treatments.
The U.S. Department of Justice said in a press release Juli Mazi, 41, of Napa also distributed fake vaccination cards to make it appear that customers had received the Moderna vaccine. She has been charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of false statements related to health care matters.
Officials say this is the first prosecution of its kind.
"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 O. Monaco said in the press release. "Even worse, the defendant allegedly created counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination cards and instructed her customers to falsely mark that they had received a vaccine, allowing them to circumvent efforts to contain the spread of the disease."
The investigation was prompted by a complaint to the Department of Health and Human Services hotline in April. Prosecutors say Mazi sold homeoprophylaxis immunization pellets she fraudulently claimed would provide “lifelong immunity to COVID-19.”
Court documents also show offered her immunizations for "childhood illnesses that she falsely claimed would satisfy the immunization requirements for California schools, and falsified immunization cards that were submitted by parents to California schools."
It was not immediately known if Mazi had a lawyer who could speak on her behalf.
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