Texas soldier sold fake COVID vaccine cards on Instagram, feds say. ‘How many u need!’

A Texas Air National Guard soldier is accused of selling fake COVID-19 vaccine cards online.

Keishaun Edward Todd advertised the sale of vaccination cards on his Instagram account and shared videos of himself dropping envelopes in a U.S. Postal Service mailbox last week, authorities say. The social media posts caught the attention of Dallas police and federal investigators.

“I’m putting ya’ll (stuff) in the mail right now,” Todd said, according to a probable cause statement. “You see it. Now it’s gone.”

In another video with vaccine cards and a laptop computer, Todd said “Active today tap in,” the probable cause statement says. Todd replied a few days later when investigators messaged him about buying vaccine cards.

“How many u need!” he said, according to the probable cause statement.

Afterward, authorities wired $150 to a phone number they say belonged to Todd. A license plate in photos and videos on his Instagram account also helped investigators determine Todd’s identity, authorities say.

On Thursday, authorities executed a search warrant at a Fort Worth hotel where Todd was housed for a military assignment. They found 82 COVID-19 vaccine cards in the room and two paper copies of completed cards in his car, according to the probable cause statement.

Todd was charged with theft of government property.

The vaccines for COVID-19 are free and those immunized against the virus receive vaccination cards. Federal authorities say they’ve seized thousands of fake immunization cards.

This story was originally published August 20, 2021 at 1:26 PM with the headline "Texas soldier sold fake COVID vaccine cards on Instagram, feds say. ‘How many u need!’."