Steven Brandenburg, a former pharmacist at Grafton, Wis.-based Aurora Medical Center, was convicted Feb. 9 of federal tampering charges after he pleaded guilty to attempting to ruin 570 doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine in December, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
Mr. Brandenburg entered his formal guilty pleas via Zoom Feb. 9 and U.S. District Judge Brett Ludwig set his sentencing for June 8. Mr. Brandenburg had signed an agreement to plead guilty to federal charges in January. He was charged "two counts of attempting to tamper with consumer products with reckless disregard for the risk that another person will be placed in danger of death or bodily injury." Each charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
The judge declined a request from prosecutors that Mr. Brandenburg be jailed until his sentencing, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The request was based in part on the fact that Mr. Brandenburg had also persuaded at least one of his co-workers to administer saline falsely labeled as the seasonal flu vaccine.
Mr. Brandenburg surrendered his pharmacy license Feb. 8, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The judge agreed to put him on GPS monitoring at his parents' home, and he was ordered to have no contact with any victims, witnesses or Advocate Aurora Health staff. He was also ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation.
Read the full article here.