A doctor working near Paris, who is suspected of selling at least 220 counterfeit health passes, at a price of 1000 euros each, was arrested and detained today, the French Agency reports, citing a police source.
The alleged accomplices of the doctor and about twenty buyers were also detained, according to the same source.
The 56-year-old doctor has his office in the community of Juanville-le-Pon, southeast of Paris. It is suspected that he sold at least 220 counterfeit passes, at a price of 1000 euros each.
During the research in his office, the researchers confiscated, among other things, fake passes and PCR tests. In addition, they confiscated “some fifteen bank accounts with many thousands of euros”.
His alleged accomplices, a 53-year-old woman and a 49-year-old man, were also arrested and have been remanded in custody.
These Covid-19 pandemic counterfeiting cases often involve “people working in vaccination centers (…), pirates using a doctor’s password to issue fake certificates”, but rarely “a doctor who benefits financially”. commented the police source.
In July, investigators were alerted to the existence of a Snapchat account that suggested fake PCR tests and fake health passes. The investigations “showed that the patients had never visited the doctor’s office”.
The approximately 20 clients detained, all adults, did not particularly oppose the vaccination. It was the “summer season” that had mobilized them: “Some countries were asking for a full vaccination cycle and paying exorbitant sums to go on holiday,” the police source explained.
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