A former New York nurse practitioner who earned roughly 1.5 million dollars by selling fake COVID-19 vaccination cards now faces a record-setting $544,000 civil penalty, the largest ever levied by the New York State Department of Health for vaccination-related fraud. Julie DeVuono, who ran Wild Child Pediatric Healthcare in Amityville on Long Island, was hit with the additional penalty on July 9, 2026 for falsifying routine childhood immunization records for 162 children in the state system.
DeVuono submitted false entries into the New York State Immunization Information System, the state’s official vaccine registry, claiming she had administered routine childhood vaccines to 162 school-aged children between November 2019 and January 2022 when those shots never occurred. The fabricated records covered required school-entry immunizations, including diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis, hepatitis B, measles-mumps-rubella, polio, varicella, meningococcal, and pneumococcal formulations needed for school and daycare attendance.
DeVuono extended the scheme to selling counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination record cards during the pandemic. She obtained real vaccine doses through official state and federal programs but, in many cases, did not administer them and instead issued the fabricated cards for payment. Parents paid roughly $85 for pediatric cards and $220 to $350 for adult cards, with the operation appearing driven by substantial financial profit at a time when many families sought ways to navigate evolving school and public health requirements.
Authorities arrested DeVuono in January 2022 following a joint investigation by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office, the Suffolk County Police Department, and federal health inspectors. She entered a guilty plea in September 2023 to multiple felony charges, including forgery, money laundering, and offering a false instrument for filing. In June 2024, the court imposed five years’ probation, 840 hours of community service, surrender of all nursing licenses, closure of the practice, and forfeiture of more than $1.2 million in criminal proceeds, including funds that had been laundered through a home mortgage payoff.
The New York State Department of Health, the state agency that oversees public health regulation across New York, announced and imposed the record $544,000 civil penalty on July 9, 2026. The fine stands as the largest ever assessed by the department for vaccination-related fraud over its 125-year history and applies in addition to the prior criminal penalties. Department officials have deleted the false immunization data from the official registry, and families impacted by the scheme were required to obtain valid documentation from alternative providers before their children could return to or remain in school.
This case highlights the critical role of accurate medical record-keeping in protecting public health and the severe repercussions that follow when professionals abuse their authority and access to state systems. The multi-year investigation and layered penalties reflect a commitment by law enforcement and health regulators to address fraud that could undermine community protection against preventable illnesses. Schools and parents rely on trustworthy systems, and the case joins a growing catalog of fraud-for-profit schemes, including one recent example of someone allegedly staging their own drowning to collect $375,000 in life insurance. The New York State Department of Health continues to provide step-by-step guidance to schools on spotting potential fraudulent immunization records, along with channels for reporting suspected cases.
