Nicholas Frank Sciotto, Counterfeit COVID-19 Vaccination Cards, Utah 2023 · New York
Michael Eugene Bolte, COVID-19 Relief Fraud, Montana 2021 · Idaho
23andMe, Data Auction Without Consent, New York NY, 2023 · Oklahoma
Live Nation, Antitrust Lawsuit, New York NY, 2024 · Oklahoma
23andMe, Selling Genetic Data Without Consent, New York, 2023 · Oklahoma

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Utah Man Sentenced for COVID-19 Vaccination Card Scam
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Utah Man Sentenced for COVID-19 Vaccination Card Scam

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Nicholas Frank Sciotto, 34, of Salt Lake City, was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment, three years supervised release, and ordered to pay a $40,000 fine for his role in a scheme that manufactured, sold, and distributed 120,000 counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination record cards.

According to court documents and statements made at Sciotto’s sentencing hearing, between March 2021 and September 2021, Sciotto promoted, manufactured, sold, and distributed illegal and counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination record cards across the country. He also sold the COVID-19 vaccination record cards wholesale to several coconspirators, including Kyle Blake Burbage, 33, of Goose Creek, South Carolina.

Sciotto engaged in this scheme without regard for any public health consequences or risks that he exposed individuals to during the pandemic, without their knowledge or consent, and he undermined the CDC’s COVID-19 vaccination program and other governmental health and safety regulations and protocols at significant profit. On Facebook, Sciotto sold each card for $10 with a 10 card minimum per order, plus $5 for shipping and directed buyers to a mobile payment service to complete the transaction.

In furtherance of the crime, Sciotto made a fake badge and identified himself as a volunteer with a major COVID-19 testing company in Utah to trick a print shop worker into believing Sciotto worked for a hospital and was authorized to print out thousands of copies of COVID-19 vaccination record cards.

The case was investigated jointly by the U.S Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office. Assistant United States Attorney Todd C. Bouton and Special Assistant United States Attorney Sachi J. Jepson of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah prosecuted the case.

Sciotto obtained over approximately $400,000 in profits from his scheme. He was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Tena Campbell on July 2024.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.