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- Written by: Lake County News reports
Juli A. Mazi, 41, of Napa, is charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of false statements related to health care matters.
The case is the first federal criminal fraud prosecution related to homeoprophylaxis immunizations and fraudulent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 vaccination record cards.
“This defendant allegedly defrauded and endangered the public by preying on fears and spreading misinformation about FDA-authorized vaccinations, while also peddling fake treatments that put people’s lives at risk. Even worse, the defendant allegedly created counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination cards and instructed her customers to falsely mark that they had received a vaccine, allowing them to circumvent efforts to contain the spread of the disease,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “The Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners are committed to protecting the American people from fraudsters during this national emergency. This commitment is evident in this prosecution as well as in the ongoing work of the Department and our agency partners in the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force established by the Attorney General earlier this year.”
“Steering through the challenges presented by COVID-19 requires trust and reliance on our medical professionals to provide sage information and guidance,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Hinds. “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. We will act to protect trust in the medical developments that are enabling us to emerge from the problems presented by the pandemic.”
According to court documents, in April 2021, an individual submitted a complaint to the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General hotline stating that family members purchased from Mazi.
The complainant stated that the family members had told them that Mazi stated that the pellets contained the COVID-19 virus and would create an antibody response in the immune system.
The complainant reported that her/his family did not receive injections of any of the three FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines.
However, in connection with the delivery of the homeoprophylaxis immunization pellets, Mazi sent COVID-19 Vaccination Record cards, with Moderna listed, to the complainant family. Mazi allegedly instructed the complainant family to mark the cards to falsely state that they received the Moderna vaccine on the date that they ingested the COVID-19 homeoprophylaxis immunization pellets.
According to court documents, Mazi offered homeoprophylaxis immunizations for childhood illnesses that she falsely claimed would satisfy the immunization requirements for California schools, and falsified immunization cards that were submitted by parents to California schools.
Homeoprophylaxis involves the exposure of an individual to dilute amounts of a disease, purportedly to stimulate the immune system and confer immunity.
Mazi is alleged to have falsely claimed that orally ingesting pellets with small amounts of COVID-19 would result in full lifelong immunity from COVID-19.
“This doctor violated the all-important trust the public extends to health care professionals — at a time when integrity is needed the most,” said Special Agent in Charge Steven J. Ryan of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, or HHS-OIG. “Working closely with our law enforcement partners, our agency will continue to investigate such fraudsters who recklessly endanger the public’s health during the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis.”
The affidavit alleges that Mazi used the COVID-19 pandemic to expand the preexisting immunization scheme by selling immunization pellets that she fraudulently claimed, in written documents and consensually monitored recordings, would provide “lifelong immunity to COVID-19.”
Mazi explained that the pellets contained a “very minute amount of this [COVID-19] disease” that can result in “infectious symptoms” of COVID-19 or “automatically flag[] the immune system’s attention, inducing immunity.”
To encourage customers to purchase the pellets, Mazi allegedly exploited disinformation and fear by falsely claiming that the FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines contain “toxic ingredients.” Mazi further stated that her customers could provide the pellets to children for COVID-19 immunity, and that the “dose is actually the same for babies.”
“Spreading inaccurate or false medical information about COVID-19 for personal gain, as the complaint alleges, is dangerous and only seeds skepticism among the public,” said Special Agent in Charge Craig D. Fair of the FBI's San Francisco Field Office. “As the government continues to work to provide current and accurate information to help slow the spread of COVID-19, the FBI will continue to pursue those who attempt to fraudulently profit from spreading misinformation and providing false documentation.”
Mazi also provided CDC COVID-19 vaccination record cards to her customers with instructions on how to fraudulently complete the cards to falsely make it appear as if a customer had received two doses of the Moderna vaccine. As part of her scheme, Mazi provided customers with specific Moderna vaccine lot numbers to enter onto the cards and with instruction on how to select the purported dates on which they had received the Moderna vaccines to evade suspicion.
Mazi is charged with wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343, and making false statements related to health cases, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1035.
If convicted, Mazi faces a maximum statutory prison sentence of 20 years for the wire fraud charge and 5 years for the false statements charge.
In addition, each charge carries a maximum $250,000 fine and 3 years of supervised release.
However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
HHS-OIG’s San Francisco Regional Office and the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christiaan Highsmith of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California and Trial Attorney Sridhar Babu Kaza of the Department of Justice Criminal Division Fraud Section’s National Rapid Response Strike Force are prosecuting the case.
The case was brought in coordination with the Health Care Fraud Unit’s COVID-19 Interagency Working Group, which is chaired by the National Rapid Response Strike Force and organizes efforts to address illegal activity involving health care programs during the pandemic.
The Fraud Section leads the Health Care Fraud Strike Force. Since its inception in March 2007, the Health Care Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 15 strike forces operating in 24 federal districts, has charged more than 4,200 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for nearly $19 billion.
In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
In May, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud.
The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said his department is launching a new police dog program and, as part of that, is welcoming Police K-9 Olin.
Olin is a young male German shepherd. His handler is Officer Kaylene Strugnell.
The department has been without a police dog since May 2009. That was when Max, a Belgian Malinois, retired.
Olin is one of several new K-9s who have started serving Lake County this year.
This spring, another German shepherd, Vern, joined California Department of Fish and Wildlife Warden Wyatt Moore to work in the Cannabis Enforcement Program.
Earlier this month, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office introduced Rex, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois, who has been assigned to Deputy Joe Lyons.
Rasmussen has been working for several years to bring a K-9 back to his department.
He said planning began in the fall of 2018 when his department presented the Lakeport City Council with a request to apply for United States Department of Agriculture community facilities grant funding to start the K-9 Unit. The City Council supported and authorized the request.
The city received a USDA grant of approximately $38,000 to be used in combination with other private and public funding to establish the program, which includes a state-of-the art patrol vehicle with built-in protection for the dog.
The department had approximately $40,000 in other law enforcement grants and asset forfeiture funds reserved for the program. Additional funding and a nonprofit partner were needed to build and sustain the program.
In April 2019, the Lakeport Police Department submitted a proposal to the Sean M. Walsh K-9 Memorial Foundation for funding to purchase the dog. The foundation, which has served communities nationwide since 2012, awarded a grant in the amount of $10,000 to purchase the dog.
Sean Walsh was a military police soldier in the California National Guard serving in Operation Enduring Freedom when he was killed in action in the Khost province of Afghanistan on Nov. 16, 2011.
Walsh was focused on his goal to be a police officer, serving as an Explorer Cadet with the Santa Clara Sheriff’s Department, and then with the Santa Clara Police Department.
Walsh joined the Army National Guard as an MP at the age of 18 to gain additional experience toward his goal. After returning from deployment, his plans were to continue his education and become a cadet with the Santa Clara Police Department, where he hoped to join their ranks as a police officer.
Walsh was dedicated to his goal of becoming a law enforcement officer; during his Afghanistan deployment, he vigorously studied and memorized the California Penal Code, preparing himself to become a police cadet.
Inspired in part by his love for animals and the adoption of an abandoned German shepherd when he was 12, Walsh’s dream and ultimate goal was to be a law enforcement officer with a K-9 partner.
His friends and family established the Sean M. Walsh K-9 Memorial Foundation with the main goal of assisting law enforcement agencies to establish a K-9 team in memory of Walsh.
Lakeport Police’s K-9 Olin is the 32nd K-9 made possible by grants from Walsh’s memorial fund.
In December 2020, the Lucerne Area Revitalization Association, or LARA, offered to serve as the nonprofit partner and donated the startup funds for the Lakeport Police K-9 account. After this account was created, two local citizens donated $4,000 and $5,000, respectively, for the program. Local businesses have made significant contributions for program infrastructure.
A significant partner is Bruno’s Shop Smart and their parent company, C&K Markets, who make donations based on customers signing up and connecting their club cards to the LPD canine program. This program does not cost the customer; C&K Markets makes a donation from every purchase made by the customer.
Susie Q’s Donuts is starting a major fundraiser this month by selling Support Lakeport Police K-9 Program coffee cups with raffle tickets for a chance to win a major prize. Lake County News, another program partner, has donated startup funding for this fundraiser.
In May of this year, based on the support of the USDA, Sean’s K-9’s, local businesses, nonprofit partner LARA, local community members, and city and police department staff, the Lakeport Police Department was able to select its K-9, Olin.
Olin and Officer Strugnell took their initial six weeks of training through CJ’s Police K-9’s in Novato.
Training was completed on June 25 and Olin and Officer Strugnell started working together on June 29.
Olin is trained in narcotic detection including methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine, as well as patrol certification including suspect tracking and apprehension.
“I am excited to once again have a police canine serving the Lakeport community; the police department appreciates all the public support, without which this program would not be possible,” Rasmussen said.
“I have had the pleasure of training with Olin and I am looking forward to working with him in our community. Olin loves his work and is very proficient and dedicated,” said Officer Strugnell.
Police K-9 Olin will be formally introduced to the community during the Lakeport City Council meeting on Tuesday, July 20, the first in-person session open to the public since March of 2020.
Rasmussen said community support will be important to maintain this program which has an estimated annual cost of $15,000.
Contributions may be provided by making donations to the Lakeport Police K-9 nonprofit and the Susie Q’s Donuts fundraiser, to future fundraising events and by participating in the Bruno’s Shop Smart program.
For more information, contact Chief Rasmussen, Lieutenant Dale Stoebe, Officer Strugnell or K-9 Unit Supervisor Sergeant Victor Rico at the Lakeport Police Department, 707-263-5491, or by email,
Learn about Sean’s K-9s at www.seansk9s.org.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
On Tuesday evening, toward the end of the board’s marathon daylong meeting, the supervisors voted unanimously to approve a 10-year lease with the John Allen Dye Trust of 1993 for the building at 325 N Forbes St. in Lakeport.
The lease’s term runs from Aug. 1, 2021, to July 31, 2031.
During the first five years of the lease, the rate will be capped at $1.11 per square foot for a total of $2,200 per month, and afterward will be eligible for increases based on 90% of the Consumer Price Index, not to exceed 2% per year, said Deputy County Administrative Officer Matthew Rothstein.
Renovations are needed and will be carried out by the county’s Buildings and Grounds Department, Rothstein said.
The lease document said the renovations will include upgrading the restrooms to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act; enclosing offices in the main area, including construction of walls, installation of doors and wiring, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning work; changing the customer service counter to meet specifications for elections-related business; new flooring and interior paint; modification of the front door and entryway, which includes removal of existing shrubs and the planter retaining wall; and modifying the existing janitorial room.
The Registrar of Voters Office is expected to open its doors there before June 2022, said Registrar Maria Valadez.
Rothstein, who worked on the lease and presented it to the board, said there’s been long-standing needs for extra space for both the Auditor-Controller’s Office and Registrar of Voters Office, and the lease “can solve both of those needs.”
The county’s Space Use Committee initially authorized a search for a suitable location for the elections office in mid-2019, but Rothstein said this was the first space that they had identified that was sufficiently close to the courthouse — it’s in the next block — and of the appropriate size.
Previously, the building had housed the Pacific Gas and Electric office for many years. The written staff report said the owners came to the county with the proposal after PG&E left.
Valadez thanked county administration and the Buildings and Grounds staff for their help in the project.
She said her office has been housed in an 847-square-foot space on the second floor of the courthouse since 1997.
In that time, she said the staff has grown from two permanent employees to five permanent staffers and several extra help employees.
The office’s current size is also very small when considering the increased needs for security, accessibility and privacy relating to elections, she said.
The new location will give Valadez’s office roughly 2,000 square feet of space, allowing them to continue to have an elections computer room plus a new dedicated ballot processing room, and a foyer with public service windows, waiting area and voting booths.
During the November presidential election, due to COVID-19 restrictions, Valadez and her staff had to use the Board of Supervisors’ chambers on the courthouse’s first floor for voting booths because of the need for more spacing. Before that, the elections office only had room for voting booths in the second floor hallway.
In the current layout, Valadez and her staff have cubicles and some additional work spaces that also are used for machinery and records storage.
In that configuration, she said it’s been hard to have private meetings or conversations with staff and vendors.
Valadez also noted the benefits of having the room to conduct elections without the additional stress of cramped conditions and having to work nights and weekends in order to accommodate getting the work done.
“It’s been a long time coming for us,” she said.
“I think it’s exciting for everybody,” said Board Chair Bruno Sabatier.
Supervisor Tina Scott said she fully supported the lease and was grateful for finding a building so close by.
Scott said she was contacted by a constituent who was concerned about safety due to not having the security screening that’s currently in place at the courthouse.
Valadez said she’s not yet certain about what security measures might be in place or what she might be able to budget, but bulletproof windows, cameras, panic buttons and security during election periods were all options.
Scott encouraged her to come back to the board to ask for what she needs, because the board wants Valadez and her staff to be safe.
Sabatier wondered if the elections office would still need some of the storage space at the courthouse. Valadez said she couldn’t tell just yet.
“This is going to be a fantastic change,” said Sabatier.
Supervisor Moke Simon, who sits on the Space Use Committee along with Supervisor EJ Crandell, moved to approve the lease agreement, with Scott seconding and the board voting 5-0.
Valadez thanked the board for the vote.
“We’re going to go celebrate now,” she said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The council will meet for a workshop at 5 p.m. on the Burns Valley Development Project before the regular meeting begins at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 15, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
The meeting will be broadcast live on the city's YouTube channel or the Lake County PEGTV YouTube Channel. Community members also can participate via Zoom or can attend in person.
The agenda can be found here.
Comments and questions can be submitted in writing for City Council consideration by sending them to City Clerk Melissa Swanson at
To give the council adequate time to review your questions and comments, please submit your written comments before 4 p.m. on Thursday, July 15.
Each public comment emailed to the city clerk will be read aloud by the mayor or a member of staff for up to three minutes or will be displayed on a screen. Public comment emails and town hall public comment submissions that are received after the beginning of the meeting will not be included in the record.
The meeting will include presentations on July’s adoptable dogs, the regional transportation plan and the Cyanobacteria Outreach Workgroup.
The council will hold a public hearing to discuss implementing restricted access to the segment of Burns Valley Road between Arrowhead and Acacia in the effort to reduce illegal dumping.
Under business, City Manager Alan Flora will present to the council a proposal to sell a 2.5-acre portion of the city’s former Pearce Field airport to MLI Associates LLC, a company that has a long history of developing hotel properties in the Bay Area and across the country.
The parcel, located at 6356 Armijo Ave., is proposed to be sold for $305,000, with the city to hold the note during the construction process, Flora reported. If MLI meets specific deadlines in the project, portions of the note can be forgiven.
After closing the sale, Flora said MLI would have 14 months to complete the entitlement process, and additional six months to begin construction, and a total of 36 months from closing to opening the doors.
“The City will be installing road and utility infrastructure to the site, with MLI completing on-site improvements, which include a 75-room Fairfield Inn by Marriott. The developer is considering including a small multi-tenant retail component to the project as well,” Flora explained in his report to the council.
Flora added, “This project, in addition to several other portions of the airport project that are nearing completion of negotiations, will be the first phase of the long-awaited redevelopment of the former Pearce Field. We expect to bring additional purchase and sale agreements before the Council in the coming months and the City plans to begin installing road and utility infrastructure at the site next spring.”
In other business, council members will discuss awarding a $55,000 contract to Chernoh Excavating Inc. for demolition of structures at 14525 Lakeshore Drive, the former Sunflower restaurant, as well as the award of a construction contract for the 2021 Measure V Pavement Rehabilitation Project to Granite Construction for the total amount of $2,023,121.50.
The council also will consider memorandums of understanding with employee groups, the Clearlake Miscellaneous Employees Association, the Clearlake Police Officers Association and the Clearlake Middle Management Association for the period of July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, along with updates to the management classification and benefits plan and city salary schedule.
Other items on the agenda include the annual financial report for fiscal year 2018-19, consideration of designation of voting delegates and alternates for the League of California Cities Annual Conference in September, and adoption of the first amendment to the fiscal year 2021-22 budgeting appropriating Caltrans Local Roadway Safety Plan Grant funding and Measure V Project funding.
On the meeting's consent agenda — items that are not considered controversial and are usually adopted on a single vote — are warrant registers; authorization for the city manager to enter into contracts with California Engineering Co. for design services for phase one of the Burns Valley Development Project, the Dam Road Extension and South Center Drive Project and the Second and Modoc Road Rehabilitation Project; notification of expiring committee appointments; consideration of continuation of declaration of local emergency issued on March 14, 2020, and ratified by council action March 19, 2020; consideration of continuation of declaration of local emergency issued on Oct. 9, 2017, and ratified by council action Oct. 12, 2017, in response to the Sulphur fire; adoption of Resolution 2021-36 and approval of sole source purchase of a seat wall from Universal Precast; a license agreement with Pacific Gas and Electric Co. for use of the Clearlake Community Senior Center as a customer resource center; and minutes of the June meetings.
Following the public portion of the meeting, the council will hold a closed session to discuss existing litigation against the county of Lake and AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp.
Email Elizabeth Larson at