IL Pharmacist Faces 120 Years For Selling Vax Cards

Via press release from the Justice Department:

A licensed pharmacist was arrested today in Chicago on charges related to his alleged sale of dozens of authentic Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 vaccination cards on eBay.

According to court documents, in March and April 2021, Tangtang Zhao, 34, of Chicago, sold 125 authentic CDC vaccination cards to 11 different buyers for approximately $10 per card. Zhao was a licensed pharmacist in Illinois and was employed at Company 1, a pharmacy which distributed and administered COVID-19 vaccines at its physical locations nationwide.

As required by the CDC, Company 1 provided a CDC Vaccination Record Card to each vaccine recipient. Zhao, who worked at Company 1 as a pharmacist during that time, obtained and subsequently offered authentic CDC vaccination cards for sale online. The indictment charges Zhao with 12 counts of theft of government property.

“Knowingly selling COVID vaccination cards to unvaccinated individuals puts millions of Americans at risk of serious injury or death,” said Special Agent in Charge Emmerson Buie Jr. of the FBI’s Chicago Field Office. “To put such a small price on the safety of our nation is not only an insult to those who are doing their part in the fight to stop COVID-19, but a federal crime with serious consequences.”

Zhao is charged by indictment with 12 counts of theft of government property. Zhao made his initial court appearance on Aug. 17 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheila M. Finnegan of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. If convicted, he faces a sentence of 10 years in prison per count.