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Pharmacist Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison for Tampering with COVID-19 Vaccine Doses in Wisconsin
A Wisconsin hospital pharmacist has been sentenced to 3 years in prison for tampering with COVID-19 vaccine doses at the hospital where he worked. Steven R. Brandenburg, 46, of Grafton, was sentenced on June 8, 2021, to 36 months’ imprisonment for tampering with the vaccine doses.
Brandenburg, who worked at Aurora Medical Center in Grafton, removed a box of COVID-19 vaccine vials from a hospital refrigeration unit during two successive overnight shifts in late December 2020. He left the vials out for several hours each night, then returned them to the refrigerator to be used in the hospital’s vaccine clinic the following day. Before the full extent of Brandenburg’s conduct was discovered, 57 people received doses of the vaccine from these vials.
Brandenburg pleaded guilty on February 9, 2021, to two counts of attempting to tamper with consumer products with reckless disregard for the risk that another person would be placed in danger of death or bodily injury.
The FBI, Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations, and Village of Grafton Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin C. Knight, Senior Litigation Counsel Ross S. Goldstein, and Trial Attorney Rachel Baron prosecuted the case.
Brandenburg will also be required to spend three years on supervised release following his prison sentence and was ordered to pay approximately $83,800 in restitution to the hospital.
This case highlights the importance of ensuring access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines during a national public health emergency. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin and its law enforcement partners will continue to work together to safeguard life-saving vaccines and hold individuals who seek to tamper with them fully accountable.
Key Facts
- State: Wisconsin
- Category: White Collar Crime|Public Health
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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