Nicholas Frank Sciotto, 34, from Salt Lake City, has been handed a one-year jail sentence followed by three years of supervised release for his role in a fraudulent operation that produced and sold over 120,000 counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination record cards. The sentence issued by U.S. District Court Judge Tena Campbell also includes a hefty $40,000 fine. Last July, Sciotto accepted responsibility for conspiring to defraud government health authorities by profiting over $400,000 from the sale of these fake cards.
Details made public at Sciotto’s sentencing revealed that he boldly began to promote and distribute these illegal cards on social media in early 2021. He offered them at $10 a pop, demanding buyers to purchase a minimum of 10 and tacked on a $5 shipping fee. To facilitate payment, Sciotto directed customers to a mobile payment service. The fraudulent scheme involved Sciotto and his coconspirator, Kyle Blake Burbage, 33, enabling individuals across the nation to falsely profess vaccination status and evade public health measures.
A particularly brazen tactic utilized by Sciotto involved the creation of a fake badge to pose as a COVID-19 testing company volunteer. This deceit was designed to convince a print shop employee that Sciotto was duly authorized to print the counterfeit documents. The United States Attorney's announcement, as detailed by the U.S. Department of Justice, underscores the calculated nature of Sciotto’s enterprise.
This case was investigated by the HHS-OIG and the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office. Assistant United States Attorney Todd C. Bouton and Special Assistant United States Attorney Sachi J. Jepson for the District of Utah led the prosecution. Acting as a response to z the influx of pandemic-related fraud, the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force was established by the Attorney General on May 17, 2021, to actively pursue and prosecute those engaged in COVID-19-related fraud and safeguard the integrity of public health programs. For additional information regarding the department’s ongoing efforts, the public is encouraged to visit their official coronavirus response web pages.
