Dr.. Julie Maze accused of selling fake COVID pills and providing fake immunization cards – CBS San Francisco

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NAPA (CBS SF) – A licensed naturopathic doctor in Napa was arrested Wednesday in an alleged scheme to sell homeopathic immunization pellets and provide fake COVID-19 vaccination cards, federal authorities announced.

Julie A. Maze, 41, has been charged with one count of telegram fraud and one count of false statements relating to health care matters, in what has been billed as the first federal criminal trial involving homeopathic vaccinations and false coronavirus immunization records.

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Ethan Gladner lives in the same apartment complex where Mazie ran her clinic. The agents made the arrest during a raid on her office.

“I didn’t know anything about it. It’s just kind of crazy to think that it could happen in the small town we live in,” Gladner told KPIX 5.

Dr. Julie Mazy (drjulimazi.com)

Maze was investigated after a complaint to the US Department of Health and Human Services from a person whose family members purchased products from in April. According to court documents, the complainant said Mazie told her family members that the home protective pellets contained the COVID-19 virus and would create an antibody response in their immune systems.

Besides the pellets, Maze allegedly sent the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) fake COVID-19 vaccination cards to the family, with the Moderna vaccine listed on the cards. Mazy allegedly asked family members to mark the cards to incorrectly indicate that they had received the Moderna vaccine on the date they ingested the pellets.

This defendant allegedly deceived and endangered the public by exploiting fears and spreading misinformation about FDA-authorized vaccines, while also promoting counterfeit treatments that put people’s lives at risk. Even worse, the defendant manufactured fake COVID-19 vaccination cards and instructed her clients to falsely flag that they had received a vaccine, allowing them to circumvent efforts to contain the spread of the disease,” Deputy US Attorney Lisa O. Monaco said in a press release. “The Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners are committed to protecting the American people from fraudsters during this national emergency.”

In addition, court documents allege that Maze offered homeopathic childhood immunizations that she falsely claimed would meet the immunization requirements of California schools, and forged immunization cards that parents provided to California schools.

“Instead of spreading correct treatments and information, Julie Maze has profited from illegally promoting unapproved treatments, raising false fears, and creating false evidence of vaccinations,” Stephanie Hinds, acting US attorney for the Northern District of California, said in a press release.

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According to the complaint, Maze was encouraged to buy its products by exploiting disinformation and fear about the FDA-licensed COVID vaccines, and falsely claiming that the vaccines contain “toxic ingredients.” Maze also allegedly told clients that they could give the pellets to babies for COVID-19 immunity, and that “the dose is the same for babies.”

“The publication of inaccurate or false medical information about COVID-19 for personal gain, the complaint alleges, is dangerous and only leads to suspicion among the public,” said Special Agent in Charge Craig De Vere of the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office. As the government continues to work to provide up-to-date and accurate information to help slow the spread of COVID-19, the FBI will continue to prosecute those trying to fraudulently profit from spreading misinformation and providing false documents.

According to the Department of Justice, Mazi made $221,817 between January 2020 and May this year. Twenty-five treatments were identified for COVID treatments with a total value of $7,653, while another 34 were for unspecified homeopathic treatments.

If convicted, Maze faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for electronic fraud and five years for false statements. Each charge also carries a maximum fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release, although any post-conviction sentence will take into account US sentencing guidelines and federal law governing the imposition of the sentence.

KPIX 5 reached out to Mazi but did not receive a response until late Wednesday night.

In May, US Attorney Merrick Garland created a COVID-19 Anti-Fraud Enforcement Task Force to help prosecute criminal actors looking to profit from fraud and disinformation during the pandemic.

Anyone with information about fraud related to COVID-19 can report this by calling the Department of Justice’s National Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form.

More news: San Francisco woman found guilty of stealing Walgreens by coughing, claiming she had COVID-19

Andrea Nakano contributed to this report.

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