Judge sets Oct. 7 as next court appearance for defendants in alleged fraudulent Covid vaccine card case
A Suffolk judge on Tuesday set an October date as the next court appearance for three defendants charged in connection with an alleged $1.5 million scheme to provide fraudulent coronavirus vaccination cards.
Defense attorneys for the two nurses and a receptionist at an Amityville pediatric health care center who were charged with forgery appeared briefly on behalf of their clients in Suffolk County District Court Tuesday.
A Suffolk county prosecutor said the district attorney’s office had handed over discovery in the form of CDs to defense attorneys for the three defendants: Julie DeVuono, 49, of Amityville, the owner and operator of Wild Child Pediatric Healthcare and a nurse practitioner, her employee Marissa Urraro, 44, of Northport, a licensed practical nurse, and Brooke Hogan, 29, of Patchogue, a receptionist at Wild Child.
The content of the CDs was not specified and defense attorneys said they had not yet reviewed the material. Each defendant has pleaded not guilty to felony second-degree forgery. DeVuono is also charged with first-degree offering a false instrument for filing, also a felony.
Suffolk District Court Judge Richard T. Dunne set the next court appearance in the cases for Oct. 7.
Prosecutors have alleged that DeVuono and Urraro forged COVID-19 vaccine cards for an undercover detective on Nov. 19 without administering the vaccine to the detective. Prosecutors said the nurses then entered the false information into the New York State Immunization Information System, a statewide vaccination database. Prosecutors have said that Hogan was "acting in concert" with DeVuono and Urraro but did not specify her alleged conduct.
Prosecutors said DeVuono and Urraro charged $220 for the forged vaccination cards for adults and $85 for children.
Authorities seized approximately $900,000 in cash while executing a search warrant of DeVuono’s home, in addition to a ledger documenting profits in excess of $1.5 million from the alleged illegal activity for the time period of November 2021 to January 2022, prosecutors said.
Barry Smolowitz, a Kings Park lawyer for DeVuono, said after court that the case is in the early stages and he’s still waiting to receive the entirety of his discovery.
"My information is such that the picture that the prosecution is painting is inaccurate," said Smolowitz.
Smolowitz confirmed reports that DeVuono is married to an NYPD officer.
"Whatever it is that is alleged, I can tell you with great certainty, that Mr. DeVuono, the police officer, knew nothing about this," said Smolowitz. "He was totally shocked. Whatever happened, he was totally, completely shocked."
Steve Politi, a Central Islip attorney who represents Hogan, reiterated that his client did not provide medical care and was only responsible for clerical duties. He said she started working there in August.
"Whatever went on inside the examination room, my client would have no knowledge of what went on in the room," Politi said.
He added that Hogan "did not have that type of access" when asked if his client accessed the state vaccination database.
Nick Bologna, an attorney for Urraro, declined to comment when leaving court.
Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.
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