After being suspected of using a fake vaccine card to avoid the state's mandatory quarantine, an Illinois woman is being held in custody in Oahu, Hawaii.
Chloe Mrozak, 24, was detained at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport on Sunday and charged with using a fake vaccine card. Instead of "Moderna," Mrozak's COVID-19 vaccine description says "Maderna."
On August 23, Mrozak arrived in Oahu, and state authorities were alerted to the suspicious document. According to court records, investigators were initially unable to locate Mrozak because the hotel reservation she left with screeners turned out to be incorrect.
Fake COVID-19 vaccine card misspelled "Moderna" to "Maderna"
However, she was apprehended when she returned to the airport to fly out last weekend, according to the report. Court records acquired by HawaiiNewsNow said, the card reportedly filed online to Hawaiian officials by Chloe Mrozak, 24, misspelled Moderna as "Maderna."
Woman arrested for using fake 'Maderna' vaccine card to travel to Hawaii https://t.co/1TTC65byfb pic.twitter.com/8jq9lCjZWe
— FOX 12 Oregon (@fox12oregon) September 1, 2021
Mrozak was vaccinated in Delaware, according to the fake vaccine card. But officials discovered no such record in the state. The Illinois woman was being detained on a $2,000 bond after she was accused of falsifying vaccination documents, as per Fox Business.
The aspiring model from Oak Lawn, Illinois, also identified Delaware as the location of her vaccination, which she said was provided by National Guard members "Cpl wolf" and "SSgt montey." Mrozak was permitted to depart the airport without informing screeners of her hotel reservation, identifying the Holiday Inn Express in Waikiki as her destination and leaving no return flight information.
Incoming travelers' COVID-19 test and vaccine records are verified by Hawaii's Safe Travels program. Visitors must provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test done no more than 72 hours before arrival in the state, according to state law.
Officials were able to establish that no reservations had been made in her name at the hotel, and detectives were still looking into her suspected fraudulent vaccination card during her stay.
A special agent in charge of the inquiry contacted Delaware officials and discovered that she had not been vaccinated. According to CBS 2, the investigator also looked through Mrozak's Facebook profile and discovered she had a big tattoo on her left hip.
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Demands of fake COVID-19 vaccine cards increase
Meanwhile, fifteen people were accused on Tuesday in connection with a "fake vaccine card scheme," according to the Manhattan District Attorney's office. Among those accused is a lady who reportedly sold 250 fake vaccine cards on Instagram, making her one of the country's first alleged dealers of counterfeit vaccine cards.
Officials say, Jasmine Clifford, 31, sold the fake cards on social media and conspired with Nadayza Barkley, 27, to put at least 10 persons into the New York State Immunization Information System database unlawfully.
Per ABC Chicago, thirteen others who bought the cards were also charged, all of whom are thought to work in frontline and essential-employee environments like hospitals and nursing homes.
Clifford, a self-described businesswoman with multiple online companies, began advertising the fake vaccination cards on her Instagram account, @AntiVaxMomma, in May 2021, according to court filings. She allegedly charged $200 for the fake cards and took payments via CashApp or Zelle.
Authorities say, Barkley, who works at a Patchogue medical clinic, would submit the person's identity into the NYSIIS database for an extra $250 charge. Clifford faces charges of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument, Offering a False Instrument for Filing, and Fifth Degree Conspiracy.
Barkley is charged with Conspiracy in the Fifth Degree and Offering a False Instrument for Filing. Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument has been filed against each of the 13 accused purchasers.
One of the defendants is also accused of offering a false instrument for filing in exchange for money to be placed into the NYSIIS database. As more organizations and venues need evidence of vaccination, demand for fake cards is increasing - but buyers beware: giving out your personal information puts you vulnerable to identity theft.
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