A Delaware paramedic will not go to prison after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor associated with manufacturing and selling fake vaccine cards.
David Hodges, who court documents state was a paramedic and resident of the Lewes area, pleaded guilty on Monday to one count of manufacturing vaccine cards without proper authorization.
Delaware District Court Judge Jennifer Hall sentenced Hodges to six months of probation. He was also ordered to pay a $1,300 fine, an amount equal to what federal prosecutors said were Hodges’ proceeds from the scheme.
Hodges, who court documents indicate was born in 1991, devised the scheme in February 2021 to sell the cards to those who had not received a legitimate vaccination, a prosecutor wrote in charging documents.
He printed fake vaccine card templates from another state’s health department website. He also worked at a Dover facility where the vaccine was being administered.
Once he had access to that local vaccine site, he took blank vaccination cards from the site, prosecutors claimed.
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Vaccination cards contain a number identifying the specific type and batch of the vaccine received. After identifying a buyer, Hodges would look up sites near that person’s residence in order to forge more accurate vaccine batch numbers for the fake card.
He would then mail them in return for a fee, the amount of which was not disclosed in court documents. Court documents indicate that prosecutors say the scheme went on through June 2021.
Hodges’ plea indicated he admitted his guilt. The charge carried the potential for six months imprisonment.
Jeffrey Scaggs, an attorney representing Hodges, said that his client addressed the court Monday expressing embarrassment, shame and remorse. He said this is Hodges’ first criminal violation and that his client has been working in the medical field outside of Delaware in recent times.
“He has been such a saint his whole life and this incident is an aberration,” Scaggs said.
Contact Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareon
