Word to the wise: if you’re planning to get rich selling phony COVID-19 vaccine cards, don’t brag about it on social media.
Amar Salim Shabazz, a 23-year-old Maryland man, has been charged with purchasing and distributing fake COVID-19 vaccine cards for profit, according to court documents obtained by The Washington Post.
“I SELL PROOF OF VACCINATION CARDS,” Shabazz commented under an Instagram post about bars and restaurants requiring guests to show proof of vaccination cards, according to the complaint.
In his private messages on the app, prosecutors alleged, he allegedly told another individual, “I’m gonna be rich.”
Instead, Shabazz now faces up to 20 years behind bars on charges of mail fraud and obstruction of justice. Prosecutors accused him of purchasing over 600 fake coronavirus vaccine cards, advertising them on several social media platforms and distributing them through the U.S. mail for anywhere from $60-$75 a pop, according to authorities.