SAN FRANCISCO — A naturopathic physician charged with promoting faux COVID-19 immunization remedies and fraudulent vaccination playing cards will probably be sentenced in November after a California choose on Wednesday denied her movement to withdraw her plea settlement.
Juli A. Mazi, of Napa, pleaded responsible final April in federal courtroom in San Francisco to at least one depend of wire fraud and one depend of false statements associated to well being care issues.
Mazi, who has since fired her attorneys and is now representing herself, sought to vacate her plea settlement whereas additionally submitting a movement difficult the very legal guidelines that led to her prosecution.
“There have been no legal guidelines damaged,” Mazi learn from her movement throughout a digital listening to Wednesday. “Are you able to present the legal guidelines that let you disregard the procedures that a naturopathic physician is licensed to manage?”
After listening to her out, U.S. District Decide Charles R. Breyer instructed Mazi that “it seems you aren't contesting the details” outlined within the plea settlement.
“To the extent you're making a movement to withdraw your plea, that's denied,” Breyer mentioned. “To the extent that you're not making a movement to plea, however difficult the legal guidelines upon which you entered your plea, or this prosecution, that can also be denied.”
Breyer set a sentencing listening to for Nov. 29.
The case was the primary federal felony fraud prosecution associated to fraudulent Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention vaccination playing cards for COVID-19, based on the U.S. Division of Justice.
Mazi offered faux CDC vaccination playing cards for COVID-19 to not less than 200 individuals with directions on find out how to full the playing cards to make them appear to be they'd obtained a Moderna vaccine, federal prosecutors mentioned.
She additionally offered homeopathic pellets she fraudulently claimed would supply “lifelong immunity to COVID-19.” She instructed prospects the pellets contained small quantities of the virus and would create an antibody response, they mentioned.
Mazi additionally provided the pellets instead of childhood vaccinations required for attendance at college and offered not less than 100 faux immunization playing cards that mentioned the youngsters had been vaccinated, figuring out the paperwork can be submitted to varsities, officers mentioned.
Federal officers opened an investigation in opposition to Mazi after receiving a grievance in April 2021 to the Division of Well being and Human Companies Workplace of Inspector Common hotline.