Long Island Receptionist Assisted Nurses in $1.5 Million Fake Vaccine Card Scam: DA

A third individual has been charged along with two Long Island nurses for her role in a scheme that allegedly involved forging official COVID-19 vaccination cards and entering the information in New York's statewide database — in a plot that brought in over $1.5 million.

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said on Monday that receptionist Brooke Hogan at Wild Child Pediatric Healthcare in Amityville was arrested on Friday for joining in with nurses Julie DeVuono, 49, and Marissa Urrao, 44. DeVuono was the clinic's owner and operator, the DA said.

Between Nov. 2021 and Jan. 2022, the trio allegedly forged vaccine cards, charging $220 for adults and $85 for children. At their arraignment, prosecutors also accused the duo of writing fake cards for undercover detectives who did not receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

The #Suffolk County DA arrested two people including the owner of an Amityville pediatric office for selling fake Covid-19 vaccine cards. $220 for adults, $85 for children. Ledgers show they may have made $1.5 million dollars from this illegal scheme #NBC4NY pic.twitter.com/jm0bcOkCeX
— Pei-Sze Cheng (@PeiSzeCheng4NY) January 28, 2022

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“As nurses, these two individuals should understand the importance of legitimate vaccination cards as we all work together to protect public health,” said Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison.

A ledger found at DeVuono's home allegedly documented profits from the scheme totaling more than $1.5 million, prosecutors said. Investigators also found $900,000 in U.S. currency at the residence.

DeVuono, a nurse practitioner, and Urraro, a license practical nurse, and Hogan have each been charged with one count of forgery. DeVuono was additionally charged with offering a false instrument for filing.