If you buy or sell a fake COVID–19 vaccination card, you could end up facing up to 5 years in prison or get hit with fines for thousands of dollars.
According to the FBI, many different federal statutes can be used to prosecute anyone involved in selling or buying fake vax cards. The severity of each case will determine which statutes will be used to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Some of the statutes that can be used include, Government seals wrongfully used (18 USC 1017), which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine. Embezzlement and theft of public money, property, or record (18 USC 641), which carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison and a fine. And Wire fraud (18 USC 1343), which has a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison and a fine.
The FBI is also encouraging anyone who spots a fake vaccine card in person or online to report it to the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services.
