A 27-year-old man from Gatineau suspected of selling fake Ontario vaccination certificates to Quebecers to enable them to illegally obtain QR codes for COVID-19 faces several counts of fraud.
Pierre Patry was arrested by Ottawa police after an investigation began in mid-September.
According to our information, the Gatineau resident was selling false “COVID-19 vaccination receipts” allegedly issued by the Ontario Ministry of Health to Quebecers. He allegedly used the same scheme with Ontarians by selling them fake Quebec vaccination certificates.
“If you gave him a Quebec health insurance card, he would give you a fake Ontario vaccination certificate. If you gave him an Ontario health insurance card, he would provide you with a fake Quebec vaccination certificate. In all cases, they were fake PDF documents, ”said Ottawa police spokesman Shaun Wahbeh.
The buyers, who paid $ 1,400 for the forged document, then went to vaccination centers in their province to have the vaccine licensed. After a quick check, the government provided them with a valid QR code.
The stratagem, of which Press reported the outline on October 15, took advantage of the fact that the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services had not done any verification with its Ontario counterpart, and vice versa, to ensure the validity of the certificates. “There was no verification on either side of the agencies,” says Wahbeh.
“Stop the bleeding”
The Ottawa Police Service says it has contacted Quebec police forces to share information. “People who bought these fake certificates are at risk of criminal charges. We are interested in working with all police forces to stop the bleeding and accuse those responsible. It is the integrity of our health system that is affected, ”said Mr. Wahbeh.
“All the relevant ministries were informed of the problem from the start of the investigation, but due to the confidentiality surrounding the medical documents, it was difficult to obtain their cooperation,” admitted the spokesman for the police. ‘Ottawa.
The office of the Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé, did not want to react to this information.
It is impossible to know at this stage how many false vaccine passports have been issued in connection with this alleged fraud. A confidential source told Press that several QR codes were produced in the Montreal area despite persistent doubts about the authenticity of the Ontario vaccination certificates presented by certain people with suspicious behavior. Some forged certificates indicated exactly the same date and time of vaccination, the same Ontario vaccination location located 550 km from Montreal, and the same names of vaccinators, from one false document to another.
According to a confidential source, the frequency of the scheme involving these fake Ontario documents has decreased since our article was published in mid-October. The use of suspicious US vaccination certificates has since been on the rise.
The suspect arrested by Ottawa Police has been formally charged with two counts of using a forged document, two counts of forgery, conspiracy to commit an indictable offense, possession of the proceeds of crime and money laundering. He is also suspected of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking. He was released on conditions with a promise to appear at a later date.