SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (KTVX) – A Utah plastic surgeon, his neighbor and two others are facing charges in connection with allegations that they gave people fake vaccination cards and destroyed government-provided COVID-19 vaccinations.
They are also accused of giving children fake COVID-19 shots.
According to court documents, Dr. Michael Kirk Moore Jr., 58, and three others allegedly ran a scheme out of Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah Inc. to defraud the United States and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The documents say Moore and his neighbor, Kristin Jackson Andersen, 59, were members of a private organization seeking to “liberate the medical profession from government and industry conflicts of interest.”
The pair, along with office manager Kari Dee Burgoyne, 52, and receptionist Sandra Flores, 31, are accused of destroying at least $28,000 worth of COVID-19 vaccinations and distributing at least 1,900 doses’ worth of fake completed vaccination record cards.
The court documents allege the fake vaccination cards were sold either for direct cash payments of $50 per person per occurrence or required “donations to a specified charitable organization.”
The documents estimate the fake vaccination cards have a total value of nearly $97,000.
Moore and his co-defendants are also accused of giving children saline shots at the request of their parents so the children would think they were receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.
“By allegedly falsifying vaccine cards and administering saline shots to children instead of COVID-19 vaccines, not only did this provider endanger the health and well-being of a vulnerable population but also undermined public trust and the integrity of federal health care programs,” said Curt L. Muller, special agent in charge with the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General.
Moore, his co-defendants, and the Plastic Surgery Institute have been 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.
The defendants are scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 26 at 2 p.m.
