A New Jersey woman made an obscene gesture as she was sentenced to prison for selling fake Covid vaccination cards at the height of the pandemic.
Jasmine Clifford, 34, gave those present the middle finger after she was sentenced to one to three years in state prison for forging as many as 250 fake vaccination cards that she sold on Instagram for $200 each.
The mother of two arrived in Manhattan court very late on Thursday wearing tight grey shorts, a black t-shirt, black sneakers and a pair of expensive Loewe sunglasses – which she kept on thru out the proceedings and even while she was taken into custody.
She tried to hide her face with a sweatshirt wrapped around her head.
Her boyfriend accompanied her to court and sat silently while she was arraigned and taken into custody.
Jasmine Clifford, 34, gave those present the middle finger after she was sentenced to one to three years in state prison for forging as many as 250 fake vaccination cards
Clifford is seen outside the courtroom with her boyfriend on Thursday
Last week Clifford’s sentencing was postponed after she brought her two young children to court but made no arrangements for them to be taken home.
The on Thursday Clifford claimed that she had been confused when she accepted the plea agreement, as reported by the Daily News.
‘I was under the impression at the last court case that we were setting a date for trial, she said. ‘I was not aware that there was a plea offer.’
She added: ‘I had seconds to make a decision and the offer was on the table… I really didn’t know what to do. In my heart what I wanted to do was to go to trial.’
However the prosecution said it was Clifford herself who asked for a plea deal.
She tried to hide her face with a sweatshirt wrapped around her head
The mother of two arrived in Manhattan court very late on Thursday wearing tight grey shorts, a black t-shirt, black sneakers and a pair of expensive Loewe sunglasses
Clifford was then hand cuffed and led out of the courtroom but not before giving the press who where present and taking pictures the middle finger
Judge Beller did not accept Clifford’s argument and advised Clifford that she could appeal the sentencing.
‘I was here, she pled guilty in front of me,’ the judge said.
‘I have a lot of people who come in front of me who have second thoughts about going to jail.’
Clifford was then hand cuffed and led out of the courtroom but not before giving the press who where present and taking pictures the middle finger.
Last week Clifford’s sentencing was postponed after she brought her two young children to court but made no arrangements for them to be taken home
She pleaded guilty to a plot that saw her sell fake US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccination cards before falsely registering buyers in New York.
At least 13 people were fraudulently put into the New York State Immunization Information System database as a result, feds said – as the mom-of-two lived high on the hog at her home in Lyndhurst
All the while, she maintained a stark social media presence as stripper 5StarJaziii, and on a still-operating Instagram account, she advertised the phony CDC vaccination cards under the name AntiVaxMomma.
Clifford, of Lyndhurst, New Jersey, was charged with offering a false instrument, criminal possession of a forged instrument and conspiracy
The image above shows a screenshot from the Instagram account ‘AntiVaxMomma’ offering fake COVID-19 vaccination cards for $200 apiece
She accepted payments from those interested through CashApp or Zelle. The pseudonym has since been wiped from her social media accounts.
For an extra $250, a second scammer would enter a bogus card buyer’s name into a New York state vaccination database, which were used to verify vaccine status at gatherings like concerts and sporting events, prosecutors said.
Clifford was subsequently charged with Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument, Offering a False Instrument for Filing, and Conspiracy in the Fifth Degree at the time of her arrest in August 2021.
