Corona vaccination fraud case stalled as doctor remains at large

A criminal case involving alleged widespread fake COVID-19 vaccinations in Germany has stalled five years after the scandal first emerged, with the accused doctor having fled the country. The 76-year-old physician, who practiced in Wemding, Bavaria, is accused of administering fake vaccinations to hundreds of patients during the pandemic in 2021.

Investigators believe the doctor performed sham vaccinations on 176 patients, administering empty syringes while disposing of the actual vaccine. The prosecution estimates that over 300 first and second doses were faked. The doctor faces charges of fraud and bodily harm. A trial was scheduled to begin at the Augsburg Regional Court in June 2023, but the accused failed to appear, leading to an international arrest warrant.

Efforts to bring the doctor to justice have been hampered by his flight to South America. Although authorities located him in Paraguay, the extradition process has been ongoing for over a year without resolution. A spokesperson for the General Public Prosecutor's Office in Nuremberg stated there is no new status update on the proceedings, making it impossible to predict when, or if, a trial will commence.

The accused doctor was allegedly also a point of contact for vaccine-skeptical individuals seeking vaccination certificates without receiving actual shots. The indictment claims he issued false certificates in at least 49 cases, a practice reportedly known within certain circles as a "Schonimpfung" or "gentle vaccination."

Separately, patients who received these fake vaccinations have faced legal consequences. The District Court in Nördlingen handled numerous criminal proceedings against the doctor's patients, with around 100 defendants in approximately 80 cases prior to the main trial in Augsburg. Most of these cases concluded with fines for the patients.