Amityville NP Who Sold Fake COVID Vaccine Cards Faces 34 Counts: DA

AMITYVILLE, NY — An Amityville pediatric nurse practitioner who forged COVID-19 vaccination record cards — and made more than $1.5 million in profits —faced a 34-count indictment on Wednesday, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced.

Julie DeVuono, 50, and her corporation Wild Child Pediatric Healthcare in Amityville, face a 14-count indictment for allegedly selling forged COVID-19 vaccination record cards, entering false information to the state’s immunization system, and laundering the proceeds.

In addition, DeVuono faces a separate 20-count indictment for allegedly creating false prescriptions for Oxycodone for people who were not her patients and submitting these false prescriptions electronically to the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH).

She was indicted before Supreme Court Justice the Honorable John B. Collins.

Between June 15, 2021, and January 27, 2022, DeVuono, along with co-workers Brooke Hogan and Marissa Urraro, sold forged COVID-19 Vaccination Record Cards to customers, according to an investigation. They entered false information that the customer received a COVID-19 Vaccination into the New York State Immunization Information System (NYSIIS).

In 2021, each adult customer was charged $220 for a false entry on the COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card and a false entry into NYSIIS, prosecutors said.

The trio later increased their price to adult customers in 2022, raising false entries to $350.

False entries for children were $85 each.

During a court-authorized search of DeVuono’s home, law enforcement seized about $900,000 in cash, Tierney said. Officials also found a ledger that documented the duo’s total profits of more than $1.5 million, he said. The ledger states that the illegal activity took place from November 2021 to January 2022, Tierney said.

DeVuono then allegedly laundered the proceeds from the scheme by transferring funds through several accounts and reinvesting the proceeds back into the business in furtherance of her illegal operation, prosecutors said.

As a result of that investigation, DeVuono, and her corporation, Kids-On-Call Pediatric Nurse
Practitioner, P.C., were indicted for the following charges:

• Six counts of second-degree forgery
• Five counts of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing
• One count of second-degree money laundering One count of fourth-degree money laundering
• One count of conspiracy in the fifth degree

Additionally, DeVuono is charged in a separate indictment with 20 counts of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing.

Between February 2019 to February 2021, DeVuono submitted false prescriptions for Oxycodone for individuals who were not her patients, to local pharmacies in Suffolk County, prosecutors said.

DeVuono knew these electronic prescriptions would be filed with the NYSDOH after they were submitted to the local pharmacies electronically, officials said.

In addition to the charges, Collins placed DeVuono on supervised release with GPS conditions.

She is due back in court on May 19.

Patch has reached out to DeVuono's attorneys, Jason Russo, Esq.and Steven Gaitman, Esq. for comment.