Pretend vaccination playing cards bought at California bar – KIRO 7 Information Seattle

SACRAMENTO, Calif .– (AP) – The owner of a bar in Northern California that authorities said was selling counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination cards to order for $ 20 each to undercover state agents was arrested during the first such foiled operation are nationally aware.

The plainclothes agents from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control said they were instructed to write their names and birth dates on sticky notes at the Old Corner Saloon in Clements, and then watched as staff cut cards, fill in identification information, and fake vaccination records laminated the finished products.

“On the back, where they put the two dates when you were vaccinated, they used two different colored pens to make it look like it was two different times,” said inspector Luke Blehm on Friday, looking authentic. “

Vaccination cards are used in some places as identification for attending large gatherings. The European Union is considering allowing tourists who can prove they have been vaccinated.

In California, officials have allowed organizers to provide easier access for people with proof of vaccination. This includes preferential access to major events like concerts and sporting events, and allows venues to set up only vaccinated areas where social distancing requirements are not as strict.

Following an anonymous tip-off to the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office, four undercover agents went to the bar several times in April and bought four counterfeit laminated vaccination cards.

They also reported that at least eight others bought counterfeit cards but did not find out how many were sold.

They returned to the small town bar this week and arrested its owner. The agents said they found two more finished cards and 30 additional blank cards along with a laminator and cutter.

“This is such a new case. We looked for other guides from other cases across the country and couldn’t find one at all, ”said Blehm.

Counterfeit cards have been advertised on social media and online sales platforms, he said, urging the California attorney general to send warnings to those locations.

But it’s the first example he’s found of someone selling tickets from a bar.

With just one such report, California law enforcement and regulators said Friday they weren’t taking the sustained task force approach they used last summer to ensure business owners were following safety guidelines to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.

“When we see that, we will conduct an investigation and take action,” said Blehm. “This is on the radar, but this is the only one we know of so far.”

Other federal and state agencies in California said they had not seen any similar fake operations.

But federal, state and local officials on a joint task force looking for criminal activity are keeping a watchful eye, said Brian Ferguson, a spokesman for the state emergency services.

“They are actively looking for such things,” he said. “They are looking for people who do things like selling vaccines or fraudulent vaccines on the open market, vaccination cards.”

In late March, the FBI and the US Department of Health’s Inspector General warned the public “to be aware that people are selling counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination cards and are encouraging others to print counterfeit cards at home.” This announcement also warned against internet-based sales.

It wasn’t immediately known if the bar owner Todd Anderson had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf. Nobody answered the phone at the bar on Friday.

Anderson was arrested on suspicion of three crimes, including identity theft, forgery of government documents and possession of an unregistered firearm. He is also accused of forging medical records, a misdemeanor.

“It is disheartening when members of our community blatantly disregard public health in the midst of a pandemic,” San Joaquin District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar said in a statement. “Distributing, forging or buying counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination cards is against the law and puts you and those around you at risk.”

California officials are also pursuing disciplinary action against the bar.

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Associate press writer Olga R. Rodriguez contributed to this San Francisco story.