Former nurse admits to Covid-19 vaccination card fraud scheme

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By Latrishka Thomas

[email protected]

A former nurse has essentially admitted to undermining public health efforts by orchestrating an elaborate vaccination card fraud scheme during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Jahmesha Millwood of Bolans has now pleaded guilty to 22 charges after initially maintaining her innocence.

The fraud was discovered after an IT team’s absence on November 13, 2021 led to a new protocol requiring nurses to hold vaccination cards for later digital processing.

Millwood, acting as a screening nurse, exploited this temporary system disruption.

The scheme unravelled when residents began arriving at the vaccination centre with completed cards on November 15, 2021, just days after a crucial IT system outage. The suspicious timing and familiar signatures prompted an internal investigation that would eventually involve police and a handwriting expert.

Millwood, a then 29-year-old mother of two, was subsequently charged with 21 counts of forgery and one count of larceny of blank vaccination cards.

While her role allowed her to write on vaccination cards, she had no authority to certify vaccinations – a right reserved exclusively for nurses who administered the shots.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that she charged at least $1,000 for each card.

A handwriting expert compared the suspicious cards with known samples of Millwood’s writing, including a vaccination card she had signed for her own son. The expert confirmed all signatures matched.

Initially denying the allegations before Justice Tunde Bakre in March, Millwood changed course during Wednesday’s court appearance, entering guilty pleas to all charges.

The court has set a tentative sentencing date for November 5. In the meantime, she remains on bail.

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