ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — Just in time for back-to-school season, the immunization records for about 135 New York students got nuked on Monday.
And, according to the New York State Department of Health (DOH), the agency responsible for voiding those records, those kids must be immunized to stay in school.
For schools, staying in line with state enrollment requirements means that any student who is not fully vaccinated has to start getting their missing shots within two weeks of the new school year.
DOH removed the pediatric immunization records for the kids, all school-aged or younger, because the nurse practitioner who filed those records—Julie DeVuono, 51, previously of Amityville—compromised them.
Except for severe medical conditions, the state requires all but one of these immunizations to enroll in daycare and prekindergarten. Tdap is not required until sixth grade.
DOH said that families of kids who got vaccinated by DeVuono—operating the scheme through the business Wild Child Pediatrics—should start the vaccination process now to minimize disruptions at school. Most of the 135 children live on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley, DOH said, with families in New York City and the Capital District likely affected, too.
DeVuono reported hundreds of phantom vaccinations as complete in the state’s immunization system that were never actually given, per DOH.
Their ongoing investigation already turned up over 1,500 falsified pediatric vaccinations.
She faces up to $2,000 in fines per fake entry at a hearing scheduled for November 19.
The DOH investigation could reveal more fake vaccination records. They’re working local health providers and schools to raise awareness about recognizing false vaccine records. DOH also said that they notified pediatric health care providers and school districts about Wild Child Pediatrics over the summer.
Police arrested DeVuono in January 2022 for separate COVID vaccine fraud …
TOO CLEVER BY HALF:
FORMER SCHOOL NURSE PRACTITIONER SENTENCED FOR FORGING COVID-19 VACCINATION RECORD CARDS, MONEY LAUNDERING
Julie DeVuono also Surrendered Her Professional Licenses as a Nurse and is No Longer Permitted to Practice in the Medical Field in New York State
11 June 2024
(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Julie DeVuono, 51, of Amityville was sentenced after pleading guilty in September of 2023 to filing forged COVID-19 Vaccination Record Cards, laundering the criminal proceeds of the sales of the forged cards and filing false prescriptions for opioids for people who were not her patients.
“This defendant abused her power as a nurse by submitting forged COVID-19 vaccination records and fraudulent prescriptions for oxycodone to state-wide databases,” said District Attorney Tierney. “As part of her plea, my office required that the defendant surrender her nursing licenses and forfeit over $1.2 million in profits from her criminal enterprise.”
According to the investigation and the defendant’s admissions during the guilty plea allocution, from June 15, 2021, to January 27, 2022, DeVuono, sold forged COVID-19 Vaccination Record Cards which purported to show that patients had received a COVID-19 vaccination. DeVuono then entered the false information into the New York State Immunization Information System (NYSIIS).
In 2021, each adult customer was charged $220 for a false entry on the COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card and a false entry into NYSIIS. In 2022, each adult customer was charged $350 for a false entry on the COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card and a false entry into NYSIIS.
DeVuono then laundered the proceeds from this criminal conduct by transferring funds through several accounts and conducting several transactions including paying off the mortgage on her Amityville home.
A subsequent investigation by the District Attorney’s Office uncovered a separate scheme by DeVuono, which revealed that from February 2019 and August 2021, DeVuono submitted false prescriptions for oxycodone to local pharmacies in Suffolk County for individuals who were not her actual patients, and some of whom were her relatives.
On September 15, 2023, DeVuono and her corporation, “Kids-On-Call Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, P.C.,” both pleaded guilty before Supreme Court Justice John B. Collins. DeVuono pleaded guilty to Money Laundering in the Second Degree, a Class C felony, Forgery in the Second Degree, a Class D felony, and Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, a Class E felony. Kids-On-Call Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, P.C. pleaded guilty to Money Laundering in the Second Degree, a Class C felony, and Forgery in the Second Degree, a Class D felony.
As a result of DeVuono’s criminal conduct, she and the corporation have agreed to forfeit criminal proceeds totaling $1,252,540. The proceeds include United States currency and bank account funds previously seized, along with equity that DeVuono paid off on her Amityville home. DeVuono also surrendered her professional licenses as a Nurse Practitioner and a Registered Professional Nurse to the New York State Department of Education, and is no longer permitted to practice in the medial field in New York State.
Additionally, DeVuono surrendered her certificate of incorporation as a professional service corporation in New York State. As a condition of her plea, she had to immediately shut down “Wild Child Pediatric Healthcare,” her pediatric office.
On June 11, 2024, Justice Collins sentenced DeVuono to six months in jail and five years of probation with alcohol and narcotic conditions. In lieu of the six months of jail, DeVuono may complete 840 hours as a community service that must be completed during her probationary supervision term of five years. She will also pay $15,000 in fines. Kids-On-Call Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, P.C. was sentenced to three-year conditional discharges and a total of $510,000 in fines. DeVuono was represented by Jason Russo, Esq. and Steven Gaitman, Esq.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys James Bartens and Adriana Noyola of the Financial Crimes Bureau, with assistance from the Suffolk County Police Department’s District Attorney Squad, the New York State Department of Health, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The civil asset forfeiture action was litigated by Assistant District Attorney Joseph McCarthy Jr. of the Finance and Asset Forfeiture Bureau. source.
