Cambridgeshire NHS worker charged £300 each for fake Covid vaccine certificates

An administrator working in a Peterborough medical centre charged £300 to create fake Covid vaccination certificates. Marzena Pawlowska created more than 100 fake records in 2021 while working at the Nightingale Medical Centre.

Pawlowska, 36, charged £300 for a single fake vaccination record and £500 for two. It is believed she received between £31,750 and £38,100 for creating 127 false records using the 'Pinnacle' vaccination record system between June 27, 2021, and October 12, 2021.

Prosecutors argued that her actions "created a consequent increased risk to public safety". They said she used her NHS account to provide unvaccinated people with records so they could falsely present themselves as vaccinated.

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Suspicions were aroused when some vaccination records were found to have been created by Pawlowska – including outside her normal working hours, on weekends, and when she was on annual leave. A total of 42 false records were created on dates when the medical centre was not running any vaccination clinics.

Pawlowska's home was raided on February 16, 2022, and she was arrested. Officers seized two blank vaccination cards, a notepad with NHS numbers written on it, loose cash amounting to £10,420, and a diary with lists of names and NHS numbers.

'She was in a position of trust'

Pawlowska was interviewed under caution and made full admissions to creating fake vaccination records. HMRC records showed more than £16,000 in declared untaxed income and her personal bank account showed a turnover of more than £44,000, which prosecutors argued she had no legitimate reason to have.

She pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation and possession of criminal property at Peterborough Magistrates' Court on April 19 this year. During sentencing at Huntingdon Crown Court on Thursday (June 13), Recorder Richard Singer said: "Very strict rules had been drawn up in order to try to protect the most vulnerable people in our society, the elderly, and those clinically vulnerable, from the effects of this global pandemic.

"I have no doubt you would have known that, by doing what you did, you were enabling unvaccinated people to fraudulently pose as vaccinated, thereby putting more people at risk." The judge said Pawlowska was of previous good character.

Pawlowska was sentenced to a total of two years in prison. Her employment at the medical centre ceased on March 25, 2022.

A spokesperson for the NHS in the East of England said: "Patients rightly expect anyone who works in a healthcare setting to adhere to the highest standards. This illustrates that when serious criminal behaviour is identified, NHS England and law enforcement partners, in this case the National Crime Agency, will take the strongest action to protect the NHS."

A National Crime Agency spokesperson said: "The period following the outbreak of Covid 19 was a highly uncertain time for the public, which makes the offences committed by Marzena Pawlowska all the more appalling. Not only was she benefiting financially from her crimes, she was in a position of trust when creating these false documents and putting people at risk.

"By bringing her before the courts, with assistance from our partners in the NHS, the NCA ensured that the response was robust, preventing ongoing offending and protecting the wider public."