A self-proclaim anti-vaccine entrepreneur who sold about 250 fake COVID-19 vaccination cards through Instagram to New York healthcare workers and a co-conspirator have been charged in Manhattan.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office charged Jasmine Clifford, 31, of New Jersey, with selling the fake cards, and Nadayza Barkley, 27, of Bellport, NY, with entering at least 10 of the buyers into the state’s centralized database – which powers the state’s Excelsior Pass.

Clifford sold 250 cards for $200 each, according to the D.A. and for a $250 extra, customers could have their names entered into the New York State Immunization Information System, which supplies data to the Excelsior Pass, New Yorkers’ digital vaccine card. Clifford and Nadayza Barkley, a medical clinic worker in Patchogue, allegedly conspired together to sell the fake cards.

Thirteen frontline or essential workers who bought cards were also charged. Some apparently work in hospitals and nursing homes, according to District Attorney Cy Vance.

“We will continue to safeguard public health in New York with proactive investigations like these, but the stakes are too high to tackle fake vaccination cards with whack-a-mole prosecutions,” District Attorney Cy Vance said in a statement. “We need companies like Facebook to take action to prevent the fraud happening on their platforms.”

Both Clifford and Barkley face felony charges related to false instruments and misdemeanour conspiracy charges.