A Utah man who helped over 120,000 people avoid mandatory vaccinations by providing them with fake vaccination record cards in 2021 has been imprisoned for one year.
“The lead defendant in a scheme that manufactured, sold and distributed 120,000 counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination record cards was sentenced today,” the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah declared in a press release.
Headlineusa.com reports: In July, Nicholas Frank Sciotto, 34, from Salt Lake City, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and faced a $40,000 fine and three years of probation.
“[He] conspired to defraud the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) by selling and distributing counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination record cards. In turn, Sciotto obtained over approximately $400,000 in profits,” the press release added.
The government stated that Sciotto “enabled numerous people to use fake vaccination record cards to masquerade as being vaccinated so they could evade public health and safety protocols across the nation.”
“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 a significant profit,” the press released added.
However, people on Twitter had a different opinion of Sciotto.
“‘Hero saves 120,000 people from potentially life-destroying illnesses and side effects, is rewarded by year in prison.’ Fixed it for you,” @QiwiGames wrote.
Shannon Joy of Shannon Joy Daily Show also praised the man.
“This is an astonishing story. Most of the fake vaccine cards were sent to New York,” she wrote. “BRAVO to this guy, he’s a hero. He should get a medal, not a prison sentence. We should always defy unjust laws or mandates.”
Another anonymous person asked rhetorically whether the people who pushed the vaccines would ever be punished like that.
