NEW HAVEN — A Waterbury woman pleaded guilty Friday to creating false COVID-19 vaccine records for more than a dozen people, including some state employees, according to federal prosecutors.
Zaya Powell, 25, of Waterbury, faces up to five years in prison. She waived her right to be charged and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to making a false statement related to a health care matter, U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery said in a press release.
Powell’s sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 4, according to the US Attorney’s office.
Powell created fraudulent vaccination records while working as a data entry specialist for Griffin Health Services Corporation. In this role, she went to several COVID-19 vaccination sites across the state and, while she did not administer vaccines, she had access to Griffin Health’s electronic health record system and stacks of vaccination cards against COVID-19 in white, US Attorney’s Office. said
He also had access to the Vaccine Administration Management System, a database developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that tracked vaccines, according to the US attorney’s office.
From August to October 2021, Powell created false records in the management system indicating that 14 people received individual doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at a Griffin Health location. None of those 14 people had received a vaccine from Griffin Health or any other health care provider, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
In addition, Powell gave the 14 people fraudulent COVID-19 vaccine cards. The cards included “a large number of genuine vaccines that were administered to other patients at Griffin Hospital,” the US attorney’s office said.
An investigation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General found that four of the 14 people were state employees who worked at the Southbury Training School, a Department of Health Services facility. Connecticut development, according to US Atty. office
Because those people were state employees, they were required by an executive order from Gov. Ned Lamont to meet certain vaccination requirements by Sept. 27, 2021, the US attorney’s office said.
“The four employees sought and used the fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination cards created by Powell and the false entries in VAMS [Vaccine Administration Management System] created by Powell to falsely document that they had received a COVID-19 vaccine,” the US attorney’s office said.
It was not immediately clear what he received in return.
Powell remains free on $25,000 bond pending his sentencing scheduled for Nov. 4.