A nursing director in Columbia, South Carolina, was charged with making fake Covid-19 vaccination cards, according to federal authorities.
Tammy McDonald, 53, allegedly made the cards on June 20 and July 28, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina said in a news release Friday.
When she was questioned about the cards in October, McDonald “lied by stating she did not have access to COVID-19 Vaccination Record Cards and that she never produced a false or inaccurate vaccine card,” officials wrote.
Federal authorities said McDonald had personally filled out the cards for people she knew had not received the shots.
McDonald, the director of nursing services at a skilled nursing and rehabilitation centre, was charged with two counts of producing fraudulent vaccination cards and one count of lying to federal investigators about her role in producing the cards.
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She was arraigned on the charges Friday and pleaded not guilty. She was granted a $10,000 bond. If convicted, McDonald faces up to 15 years in prison for each count of producing a fake card and five years for lying to federal officials.
An attorney for McDonald could not immediately be reached.
Derrick L. Jackson with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General said McDonald’s actions “defrauded and endangered the public.”
“We remain committed to working with our law enforcement partners to investigate individuals who are exploiting the pandemic and people for personal gain,” he said in a statement.