Two individuals have been charged over the creation and sale of pretend Covid-19 vaccination data in the course of the pandemic.
Waqas Hanif, 26, and Touqir Nasir, 29, will seem at Luton magistrates’ court docket on Thursday. They had been charged in relation to alleged offences beneath the Laptop Misuse Act and Fraud Act, the Nationwide Crime Company (NCA) mentioned.
A joint investigation, carried out by the NCA and NHS England, discovered nearly 2,000 fraudulent data at a well being centre in Luton between June and October 2021.
Investigators additionally seized £145,000 in money from a security deposit field within the city, the NCA added.
In the course of the pandemic, unvaccinated people reportedly paid for respectable vaccine passport data obtained illegally from on-line marketplaces so they might journey when others had been topic to restrictions.
Paul Foster, head of the NCA’s nationwide cyber crime unit, mentioned: “Receiving a vaccine is a matter of particular person selection. Nevertheless, abusing our healthcare system to facilitate unvaccinated people to bypass restrictions which might be in place to guard the British public is prohibited.
“Working carefully with the NHS England Counter Fraud Group, this investigation has helped to safe the protection of our communities by stopping organised criminals from additional undermining the nationwide pandemic response and benefiting financially from the damaging service they supplied.”
Hanif, of Sherwood Highway, Luton, was arrested by NCA officers in January 2022, and Nasir, of Runley Highway, Luton, attended a voluntary interview in March 2022, the NCA mentioned.
Hanif and Nasir have each been charged with conspiracy to unauthorised laptop entry with intent to commit different offences, enter into/involved in acquisition/retention/use or management felony property and conspiracy to commit fraud by false illustration.
Hanif has additionally been charged with purchase/use/possess felony property.
