A Utah plastic surgeon and three others allegedly threw away at least $28,000 worth of COVID-19 vaccines, injected minors with saline shots and distributed hundreds of fake vaccination cards, according to the Justice Department.
Michael Kirk Moore Jr., MD, 58, and three co-defendants ran a scheme through the Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah by distributing nearly 2,000 fake vaccination cards for cash payments or "required 'donations' to a specified charitable organization," according to a Jan. 18 news release.
The "defendants also administered saline shots to minors — at the request of their parents – so children would think they were receiving a COVID-19 vaccine," the Justice Department said.
Dr. Moore and Kari Dee Burgoyne, 52, Kristin Jackson Andersen, 59, and Sandra Flores, 31, are charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to convert, sell, convey and dispose of government property; and conversion, sale, conveyance and disposal of government property and aiding and abetting. They are scheduled to appear in court in late January.