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Amityville resident Julie DeVuono, age 51, owner of Wild Child Pediatric Healthcare, pleaded guilty to felony forgery and money laundering charges in Suffolk County Court on Friday, Sept. 15.
She admitted that between June 2021 and January 2022, she sold people forged COVID-19 vaccine cards and then entered false information claiming the customers had received a vaccination into the New York State Immunization Information System (NYSIIS).
Customers paid anywhere from $220 to $350 for her services.
DeVuono later laundered the money through various bank accounts and transactions, including paying off the mortgage on her Amityville home, according to prosecutors.
A separate investigation found that she submitted false prescriptions for oxycodone to pharmacies in Suffolk County between February 2019 and August 2021, sometimes using the names of her relatives. She then kept the pills for herself.
“The defendant’s abuse of authority preyed upon the fears and mistrust of the public during the COVID shutdown to forge COVID cards for the vaccine she never administered, in pursuit of no other purpose than her own enrichment,” said Suffolk County DA Raymond Tierney.
In court Friday, DeVuono pleaded guilty to felony money laundering, forgery, and offering a false instrument for filing.
Her corporation, “Kids-On-Call Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, PC” also pleaded guilty to money laundering and forgery.
She agreed to forfeit more than $1.2 million and will surrender her professional licenses. She also agreed to close her pediatric office and is barred from practicing medicine in New York.
DeVuono is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 17. She is expected to receive six months in jail and 840 hours of community service.
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