‘Lifelong immunity’ from COVID? Naturopathic doctor peddled bogus pills in CA, feds say
Update: Julie A. Mazi pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of making false statements on Wednesday, April 6, 2022. She is scheduled to be sentenced July 29.
This story was previously updated to reflect that Julie A. Mazi is a naturopathic doctor. The Department of Justice initially identified her as a homeopathic doctor.
For a couple hundred dollars, a doctor in California peddled pellets containing trace amounts of the coronavirus, which she claimed would provide “lifelong immunity” to COVID-19.
She even threw in fake vaccination cards, prosecutors said.
Juli A. Mazi, 41, was arrested Wednesday on charges of wire fraud and making false statements related to health care matters, prosecutors in the Northern District of California said in a news release. Mazi, whose website lists her as a naturopathic doctor in Napa, is accused of selling “homeoprophylaxis immunization pellets” as a legitimate alternative to FDA-authorized vaccines.
“Steering through the challenges presented by COVID-19 requires trust and reliance on our medical professionals to provide sage information and guidance,” Acting U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds said in the release. “According to the complaint, instead of disseminating valid remedies and information, Juli Mazi profited from unlawfully peddling unapproved remedies, stirring up false fears, and generating fake proof of vaccinations.”
It’s the “first federal criminal fraud prosecution related to homeoprophylaxis immunizations and fraudulent CDC COVID-19 vaccination record cards,” according to the release.
Homeoprophylaxis immunizations of the sort Mazi was reportedly selling expose individuals to “dilute amounts of a disease, purportedly to stimulate the immune system and confer immunity,” prosecutors said.
But her claim that the pellets provided lifelong immunity was “absolutely a false statement,” a medical expert at the National Institutes of Health told investigators.
The same expert said there is no data to suggest “eating pellets containing COVID-19 results in a COVID-19 infection,” and that a mild case wasn’t likely enough to generate an effective immune response. They also said infecting people with COVID-19 to generate immune responses only “risks spreading the disease.”
‘More than an ethical stretch’
The investigation into Mazi began in April, when someone filed a complaint with the Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General saying members of their family received immunization pills and vaccine cards from her.
According to prosecutors, that person recorded a phone call with Mazi’s office in which she touted the benefits of homeoprophylaxis, saying “the remedy for COVID has been available since the beginning.”
She also reportedly said it was “more than an ethical stretch” to give out government vaccination cards, but that she was “stepping up to the plate to offer (them).” Mazi additionally confirmed the pellets took the place of a vaccine and that children and babies could receive the same dosage as adults.
The person subsequently bought Mazi’s COVID-19 homeoprophylaxis pellets for $243, prosecutors said. When the pills arrived in the mail a short time later, they were reportedly accompanied by four blank vaccine cards and instructions on how to fill them out with actual lot numbers for the Moderna vaccine.
The instructions also advised patients to take the pills for four days “before lifelong immunity is considered achieved.”
Prosecutors said at least two other people filed complaints about Mazi in the same time period. They said she “exploited disinformation and fear” by claiming the FDA-approved vaccines had “toxic ingredients.”
A secondary scheme
In the course of the investigation, special agents also discovered Mazi’s alleged COVID-19 scam was an extension of another scheme involving school immunizations.
According to the complaint, Mazi offered homeoprophylaxis immunizations for childhood illnesses that she claimed satisfied California’s school immunization requirements. Prosecutors said she also doctored the immunization cards parents submitted to schools.
In interviews with officials at a charter school in Ukiah, California, investigators said parents had submitted immunization cards signed by Mazi at the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year. At least one parent reportedly called the school to ask if homeoprophylaxis immunizations satisfy state requirements.
Mazi faces up to 20 years in prison on the wire fraud charge and up to five years on the false statements charge. Both counts cary a maximum of $250,000 in fines and three years of supervised release.
This story was originally published July 15, 2021 at 10:08 AM with the headline "‘Lifelong immunity’ from COVID? Naturopathic doctor peddled bogus pills in CA, feds say."
