Fake vaccination certificates: district court fines couple – legal situation is difficult
Created: 01/20/2022, 21:45
A couple was on trial for fake vaccination cards (archive image) © Stefan Puchner/dpa/Archive image
The trade in fake vaccination cards is booming.
5,500 pieces have been secured in Bavaria so far.
The District Court of Fürth has now imposed the first fine.
Fürth – The unvaccinated currently no longer have access to many areas of public life.
This stimulates the trade in fake vaccination cards and QR codes.
The police had to investigate over 12,000 suspected cases across Germany, reports
nordbayern.de
.
Bavaria is at the top: 4,000 procedures are running, 5,500 vaccination certificates have been secured.
The District Court of Nuremberg-Fürth is also currently preparing for numerous negotiations.
400 cases of forged certificates are on the agenda.
Fürth: Couple flies up with false vaccination certificates in the pharmacy
The first case concerns a young couple who were noticed in a pharmacy in Ronhof in mid-October.
They had presented their vaccination cards there in order to receive the digital vaccination certificate in the form of a QR code.
In the passports were the stickers that provide information about the administered vaccine, as well as the batch number.
However, the pharmacy staff noticed that the information was forged and filed a complaint against the couple, according to
nordbayern.de.
The two have now been summoned to appear before the Fürth district court.
The 29-year-old defendant and his 23-year-old wife each had a public defender by their side.
This is rather unusual in such proceedings, since a mild sentence is to be expected.
Video: Police search 100 apartments during vaccination pass raid
Fürth: Difficult legal situation in many cases
The reason for this is the difficult legal situation in this case. So far, i.e. in the era before the pandemic, there was only one regulation according to the Criminal Code for falsifying health certificates in the event of fraud against authorities or insurance companies. This also includes the vaccination card. Due to the corona pandemic, however, the corresponding paragraph had to be amended, since fraud with counterfeit vaccination cards also affects other areas, such as visiting bars, cinemas or sports facilities. Up to five years imprisonment can then be imposed. However, the new regulation came into effect on November 24, 2021 - although the couple was caught with the fake vaccination cards before that. The woman's defense attorney and the husband's attorney therefore demanded an acquittal.
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Fürth: A total of 4,000 euros fine for the accused
Magistrate Armin Riedel dismissed the two.
He positively emphasized that the two accused had no previous convictions.
In addition, they had shown remorse and had now also been vaccinated.
Nevertheless, they would have behaved selfishly.
In a pandemic, this is “ethically and morally reprehensible”.
The 29-year-old accused was therefore fined 2,500 euros, the 23-year-old woman 1,500 euros, the portal continued.
Fürth: The final decision lies with the Federal Court of Justice
However, the verdict is not yet final as the case lies in a legal gray area.
There could be a revision in which legal questions have to be examined again.
The district court expects numerous such contestable judgments.
The Federal Court of Justice will then have the very last word.
The obligation to vaccinate in the care sector could cause staff shortages across the board.
Employers in the Nuremberg area are therefore fighting for their employees.