San Joaquin County bar owner accused of selling fake COVID-19 vaccine cards

CLEMENTS, Calif. (KION and KPIX) A bar owner in San Joaquin County has been arrested after agents with the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) said he sold fake COVID-19 vaccination cards out of the business, according to the CBS affiliate in the Bay Area.

Agents said they arrested 59-year-old Acampo resident Todd Anderson, who owns a bar along Highway 88 in Clements. After receiving reports of the fake cards, ABC said its undercover agents were able to buy the cards. During the arrest, KPIX reports that agents also found that he had a loaded, unregistered gun.

The San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office and the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office helped ABC agents get a search warrant for the bar, where they said they found items used to make the cards. Another employee at the bar is also under investigation.

“It is disheartening to have members in our community show flagrant disregard for public health in the midst of a pandemic," District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar said to KPIX. "Distributing, falsifying or purchasing fake COVID-19 vaccine cards is against the law and endangers yourself and those around you. The San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office is grateful for the partnership with the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control for their work in this case.”

ABC reportedly plans to file a disciplinary action against the business, and that could result in its liquor license being revoked.