Two New York nurses charged forging Covid vaccine cards to earn more than $1.5 million

February 01, 2022: -Two nurses on New York’s Long Island are being charged with forging Covid-19 vaccination cards, which enter the fake jabs in the state’s database, a scam that raked in over $1.5 million.

On Friday, the Suffolk County District Attorney arrested Julie DeVuono, 49, the owner and operator of Wild Child Pediatric Healthcare in Amityville, and her employee, Marissa Urraro, aged 44, according to a complaint.

From November 2021 to January 2022, the pair allegedly forged vaccination cards, which charged adults $220 apiece and $85 per child for a fake record that would land in the New York State Immunization Information System database. Prosecutors said that on one or more occasions, DeVuono and Urano allegedly created forms to indicate a vaccine was given to an undercover detective despite never administering the vaccine.

“Forging COVID-19 vaccination cards and entering false information into the New York.

State database used to track vaccination records puts the health and well-being of others at risk. It undermines efforts to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus,” special agent Scott Lampert said in a statement announcing the charges.

In search of DeVuono’s home, officials said officers seized roughly $900,000. They allegedly found a ledger documenting profits from the scheme over $1.5 million.

DeVuono’s husband, Derin DeVuono, a New York Police Department officer, is being investigated by the department’s Internal Affairs Bureau regarding his possible involvement in his wife’s alleged scheme, sources told the New York Daily News.

The pair’s legal defense was not immediately apparent. DeVuono and Urraro are each charged with one count of forgery in the second degree. DeVuono is being charged with an additional count of offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree.

In the previous month, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill criminalizing fake Covid-19 vaccination cards.