Three men in Baltimore County, Maryland, were accused of impersonating pharmaceutical company Moderna to advertise and sell fake Covid-19 vaccines. The suspects, Kelly Lamont Williams, Olakitan Oluwalade, and Baba Oluwalade, were all arrested last week. The trio allegedly copied the source code of the legitimate Moderna website and spoofed it, seeking to create a convincing fake and trick unsuspecting victims. The malicious copy was found at modernatx .shop, according to authorities.
The Moderna vaccine was authorized in late December by the FDA for emergency use in the United States to prevent infection with the Covid-19 virus. The men allegedly sold hundreds of fake Covid-19 vaccines at $30 a dose, scamming Americans out of their money. The affidavit reveals that the Homeland Security Investigations Intellectual Property Rights Center discovered the website on January 11.