David Ryder/Getty Doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine and vaccination record cards await patients at UW Medical Center - Roosevelt on June 21, 2022 in Seattle, Washington.
A Utah plastic surgeon and three of his associates are accused of running a scheme to distribute fake COVID-19 vaccination cards to anti-vaxxers, federal prosecutors say.
Charges against the Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah, Dr. Kirk Moore, Kari Burgoyne, Kristin Jackson Andersen and Sandra Flores were unsealed on January 17, 2023. Prosecutors said about 2,000 vaccine doses, worth more than $28,000, were destroyed as a result of the scheme.
According to court documents obtained by Heavy, Moore and his associates are accused of conspiring to defraud the U.S. and the Centers fo Disease Control and Prevention by destroying “hundreds of doses of government-provided COVID-19 vaccines … in exchange for either direct cash payments or required ‘donations’ to a specified charitable organization.”
They are also accused of then distributing “COVID-19 vaccination record cards to person without administering a COVID-19 vaccine to them.” Prosecutors said some minor children were given saline shots “to trick them into thinking they had received a vaccine,” because their parents didn’t want them to be vaccinated, according to court documents.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah obtained a grand jury indictment charging the defendants with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to convert, sell, convert and dispose of government property and conversion, sale, conveyance and disposal of government property and aiding and abetting, all felonies, on January 10, 2023, according to court documents. The three charges are felonies.
Burgoyne is the office manager for the Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah, while Flores is a receptionist and Andersen is Moore’s neighbor, court documents show. They are all set to be arraigned on January 26 before Magistrate Judge Jared C. Bennett, records show.
According to court documents, the Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah, located in Midvale, Utah, provides cosmetic surgery to patients. The unnamed charity that received donations as part of the scheme is associated with Moore and seeks to “liberate the medical profession from government and industry conflicts of interest,” according to prosecutors. Andersen is also associated with the charity, prosecutors said, and she has expressed anti-vaccine sentiments on social media.
Heavy has reached out to the Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah for comment. It was not immediately clear if the business, along with Moore, Burgoyne, Andersen and Flores, have obtained attorneys who could comment on their behalf.
Moore & the Plastic Surgery Institute Signed a CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Program Provider Agreement but Then Set Up a Scheme to Help ‘Fraudulent Vax Card Seekers,’ Prosecutors Say
According to the indictment, Moore signed a CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Program Provider Agreement in May 2021 so he could received vaccines from the CDC at the Plastic Surgery Institute. He and Burgoyne then ordered hundreds of doses of vaccines from the CDC, according to court documents.
They then began contacting people seeking to obtain a COVID-19 vaccination record card without receiving an actual vaccine, prosecutors said, who are dubbed as “fraudulent vax card seekers” in the indictment. Starting in November 2021, Moore and Burgoyne began distributing the vaccination record cards to those who were seeking them in exchange for cash payments or donations, according to court documents.
Prosecutors said Moore had Burgoyne manage the “day-to-day logistics of the scheme,” and they set up a “screening mechanism for the fraudulent vax card seekers.” When they contacted the plastic surgery office, Burgoyne would refer them to Andersen. Prosecutors said Andersen would then screen them “by requiring them to provide her with the name of another fraudulent vax card seeker who had already received a COVID-19 vaccination record card from the Plastic Surgery Institute without actually receiving a COVID-19 vaccine,” prosecutors said.
“Once Andersen had successfully screened the fraudulent vax card seekers … she would provide them a link to” the unnamed charity’s website, prosecutors said. “She would require them to make a $50 ‘donation’ for each person and each appointment” in order to receive the cards, prosecutors said. Andersen then would send them forms to complete after the donation was made and schedule an appointment for them to pick up the card at the office, according to court documents.
Prosecutors said the employees at the Plastic Surgery Institute would fill and and stamp the cards to “falsely indicate” they had “actually received a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.” Flores and other employees would then provide them with the card without actually administering the vaccine, prosecutors said.
According to court documents, Moore, Burgoyne, Andersen, Flores and others “conveyed and sold without authority COVID-19 vaccination record cards to fraudulent vax card seekers that were fraudulently completed to falsely reflect that the fradulent vax card seekers had received at least 1,937 doses of bona fide VODI-19 vaccines, when, in fact, they had received none.”
They also would upload the names of the fradulent vax card seekers to the Utah Statewide Immunization Information System, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said the defendants destroyed the vaccine doses they received, “usually by drawing them from the bottle and then squirting them down the drain from a syringe.”
Federal Investigators Set Up an Undercover Sting Targeting the Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah, Court Documents Show
According to court documents, federal investigators set up a sting targeting the Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah in March 2022. An undercover agent called the business on March 3 inquiring about setting up a “vaccine appointment” and was referred to Andersen, according to court documents. The agent called back and asked Burgoyne, “Do I still need to contact Kris for the paperwork if I just want the card and not the vaccine,” and Burgoyne responded, “Yes,” according to prosecutors.
The undercover agent then texted Andersen asking about acquiring a vaccine cad to use for a cruise and Andersen asked for a referrer’s name. The agent gave Andersen a name and she then told him to use Venmo or PayPal to make a $50 donation per appointment per person with an “orange” emoji in the memo, and then to send her a screenshot, prosecutors said.
A second undercover agent also went through the process, according to court documents. In June 2022, that undercover agent went to the Plastic Surgery Institute’s office and Flores filled out and gave the agent a vaccination record card indicating he received a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine without actually administering one and knowing that he hadn’t actually been vaccinated, prosecutors said.
“On June 21, 2022, when Undercover Agent 2 asked Flores if his children could also receive similar COVID-19 Vaccination Record Cards, FLORES wrote on a Post-it note that “with 18 & younger, we do a saline shot,” indicating that minors could receive saline shots and obtain the cards without receiving a vaccine, and then slipped him the note,” prosecutors wrote.
Along with the criminal charges, prosecutors are also seeking forfeiture of all remaining doses of COVID-19 vaccines, all COVID-19 vaccination record cards and a monetary judgement of about $124,878.50.
Moore Graduated From the University of Miami’s Medical School Who Had a ‘Passion’ to ‘Formulate an Ideal Methodology for Breast Augmentations’
According to the Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah’s website, Moore graduated from the School of Medicine at the University of Miami and then “completed his plastic surgery residency at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.”
The website states:
Dr. Kirk Moore is a board-certified plastic surgeon who treats patients all across the greater Salt Lake City, UT metropolitan area and beyond at his Midvale, UT practice, Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah. With his tireless pursuit to elevate standard breast augmentation techniques, Dr. Moore has garnered worldwide attention for his Rapid Recovery breast augmentation procedure methodology. Men and women regularly travel from all around the country to seek out his experienced, personalized care. Throughout his flourishing career, Dr. Moore has committed himself to provide compassionate care to everyone who visits his premier plastic surgery office.
Dr. Moore is licensed by both the Utah Department of Occupational Licensing and the Idaho Board of Medical Examiners.
With nearly two decades of experience in the medical profession, Dr. Moore specializes in performing a range of aesthetic enhancements for the breast, body, face, skin, and hair. Among the full library of services he offers at his Greater Salt Lake City, UT practice, Dr. Moore is largely known for his work with breast augmentations, breast lifts, breasts revisions, tummy tucks, rhinoplasties, CoolSculpting, injections (such as BOTOX and Juvéderm), and advanced weight loss techniques (such as ORBERA and Obalon).
According to his office’s website, “For many years, Dr. Moore’s passion was to formulate an ideal methodology for breast augmentations. His goal was to make this procedure safer and simpler while significantly minimizing the patient’s discomfort.”
Burgoyne Has Also Worked as a Real Estate Agent & as a Surgical Coordinator & Master Esthetician
Burgoyne has also worked as a real estate agent, according to her Instagram. On Facebook, Burgoyne said she graduated from NIMA: National Institute of Medical Aesthetics.
The Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah’s website says, “Kari has been an industry leader for over 25 years. In 2017 she attended a Medical Esthetics program to further her education. She has a passion and love for medical esthetics! Her experience has helped her transition into a surgical coordinator position where she helps you, the patient makes an informed decision about your surgical needs.”
The website adds, “Kari likes to see results and has a broad knowledge of all the treatments and procedures PSI Utah has to offer to get you results you can count on!”