CT woman who created fake COVID-19 vaccination cards, including for 4 state workers, gets probation

Staff, Hartford Courant
·2 min read

A Waterbury woman who created false COVID-19 vaccine records for 14 people, including four state employees who worked at Southbury Training School, was sentenced to probation in federal court this week, according to federal prosecutors.

Zaya Powell, 25, of Waterbury, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to three years of probation, to pay a $5,000 fine and perform 200 hours of community service, according to federal prosecutors.

Authorities, citing court documents and statements made in court, said Powell worked in data entry for Griffin Health Services Corp. and traveled to vaccination sites Griffin Health operated. Powell didn’t administer vaccines, but had access to the Griffin’s electronic health record system, blank vaccination cards, and the Vaccine Administration Management System database that tracked COVID-19 vaccine administration, prosecutors said in a statement.

Powell created fake vaccination records in VAMS from August to October 2021, prosecutors said. Four of the 14 people who got fake COVID-19 vaccination cards from her were state employees at the state’s Southbury Training School, a Department of Developmental Services facility. The four employees, who were required to be vaccinated under an executive order issued by Gov. Ned Lamont, sought and used the fake COVID-19 vaccination cards and false entries in VAMS by Powell to falsely document they had received the vaccination, prosecutors said..

“The records indicated that each of the 14 individuals had received a single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccination at a Griffin Health location when, in fact, none had received any COVID-19 vaccination from Griffin Health or any other health care provider,” the statement said.

Authorities said Powell entered each person’s name and birth date into VAMS, created fake COVID-19 vaccination cards for 14 people and distributed them to the people, their family members or co-workers. The cards included lot numbers of vaccines that were administered to other Griffin Health patients, prosecutors said.

Powell pleaded guilty on August 12 to one count of making a false statement relating to a health care matter. The four Southbury Training School employees were charged in state court and their cases are pending, federal prosecutors said.

The investigation into the case was done by the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.