Fake Moderna website offered to sell COVID vaccines to undercover agent, feds say
A website mimicking Moderna’s official site claimed to have doses of the coronavirus vaccine for sale before they were widely available, according to federal court filings.
Now a 25-year-old man from Maryland is pleading guilty to fraud charges.
Odunayo “Baba” Oluwalade, of Windsor Mill, is one of at least three men accused of orchestrating the scheme, the government said in court documents. The alleged co-conspirators include Oluwalade’s cousin and another man, Kelly Lamont Williams, whose bank account they reportedly used to receive payments for the vaccine doses.
Oluwalade was tasked with finding bank accounts for the alleged scheme, federal prosecutors said in an Oct. 29 news release. He faces up to 20 years in prison at sentencing.
A defense attorney representing Oluwalade declined to comment in a statement to McClatchy News on Nov. 1.
According to court documents, Homeland Security Investigations discovered a website called “Modernatx.shop” in January. The site shared the same name and trademarked logos as Moderna along with a text box that read, “You may be able to buy a COVID-19 vaccine ahead of time.”
The Federal Trade Commission issued warnings during the vaccine distribution process that offers to pay for early access to a shot were a scam.
Investigators’ discovery of the fake website prompted an undercover agent to try to buy doses of the vaccine from the people behind it. In an affidavit accompanying the criminal charges, investigators said the agent was offered 200 doses of the vaccine at $30 a dose, or $6,000 total.
The agent was reportedly told to send the money to a bank account in Williams’ name.
Homeland Security Investigations subsequently searched Williams’ house, along with the residences of Oluwalade and his cousin, according to the affidavit. Agents uncovered texts between the men detailing the alleged scheme, including information about Williams’ bank account at Navy Federal Credit Union.
After searching Williams’ house but before agents showed up on Oluwalade’s doorstep, they reportedly used Williams’ phone to text him.
In the message, agents posing as Williams asked, “Yo where u want me send the bread?”
“Yea send me some thru zelle and some through cash app,” Oluwalade texted back, according to the affidavit.
Prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against Oluwalade in February, court filings show, and he was arrested the following day. A judge released him from jail on several conditions, including that he regularly report to a supervising officer, stay in the District of Maryland and refrain from communicating with his alleged co-conspirators.
Oluwalade pleaded guilty on Friday to one count of wire fraud.
As part of the agreement, Oluwalade conceded to knowing the bank account he found would be used in a fraud scheme but said he didn’t know the specifics of the fraud.
A sentencing date has not been set.
This story was originally published November 1, 2021 at 3:01 PM with the headline "Fake Moderna website offered to sell COVID vaccines to undercover agent, feds say."
