A Marine Corps reservist charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol has been accused of selling COVID-19 vaccine cards.
Jai Liu and alleged co-conspirator Steven Rodriguez are accused of distributing at least 300 false vaccination cards, including to other members of the Marine Corps Reserve, from March 2021 to February 2022.
Both men were each charged with one count of conspiring to defraud the Department of Health and Human Services and one count of conspiring to commit forgery, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
Liu was additionally charged with conspiring to defraud the Department of Defense.
The pair is facing up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
Liu allegedly bought blank vaccination cards from Rodriguez, who is a nurse, and sold them to people who are unvaccinated. The pair would offer to sell either blank vaccination cards or completed cards that contained names, dates of birth, dates of vaccination and vaccine lots, according to the indictment.
Liu and Rodriguez would also make customers make appointments at the health care clinic where Rodriguez worked. There, Rodriguez would allegedly destroy a vial of a vaccine, provide a fake card and enter that false vaccination into New York’s immunization database.
In addition, Liu is accused of distributing vaccines to other Marines to help them get around the military’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin mandated vaccinations for the military in late August, but each service is responsible for enforcing its own deadlines. Active-duty Marines had until Nov. 28 to be vaccinated, and reservists had until Dec. 28.
“By distributing false COVID-19 vaccination cards to members of the United State Marine Corps, Liu facilitated the introduction of unvaccinated persons into a military setting that had been constructed to exclude unvaccinated persons for the safety of troops and the protection of the United States,” the indictment reads.
Liu was first arrested in October in connection with the Jan. 6 riot and charged with four counts related to entering and remaining on restricted ground, disorderly conduct and parading or demonstrating in a Capitol building, according to court records.
According to an affidavit from October, Liu was seen on security footage entering the Capitol on two separate occasions.