Pam Bondi drops case mid-trial of Utah doctor accused of faking COVID-19 cards, destroying vaccines

The Orrin G. Hatch United States Courthouse is pictured in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (McKenzie Romero/Utah News Dispatch)

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi over the weekend stepped in to end the federal case against a Utah plastic surgeon accused of issuing falsified COVID-19 vaccination cards to patients who hadn’t actually received the vaccine, then destroying the government-issued vaccine doses.

Dr. Michael Kirk Moore and some members of his staff were accused of distributing at least 1,937 fraudulent vaccination cards without administering a vaccine, with prosecutors saying patients paid cash or made required donations in exchange. In the cases of some minors, at their parents’ request, Moore administered saline shots so that the children would think they had been vaccinated, prosecutors said.

Moore and his staff destroyed more than $28,000 worth of government-provided COVID-19 vaccines, according to federal charges.

In a post on the social media platform X on Saturday, Bondi announced she was dismissing the case, saying “Dr. Moore gave his patients a choice when the federal government refused to do so. He did not deserve the years in prison he was facing. It ends today.”

Moore and his codefendants were one week into what was scheduled to be a 15-day jury trial, facing charges including conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to convert, sell, convey, and dispose of government property. 

In a statement issued after the announcement, attorneys representing Moore emphasized he has maintained his innocence and that he would have succeeded at trial. The dismissal closes a “painful chapter,” they wrote.

“The Attorney General’s decision to dismiss all charges before the trial concluded reflects what the evidence has shown all along: that our clients did not commit a crime. They honored the personal medical choices of their patients. They never received a dollar in return. And no unexpired vaccines were ever destroyed,” the statement said. 

Moore’s case has drawn support from those critical of government regulations during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, including Utah state lawmakers like House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper.

At a rally on the courthouse steps last week as the trial got underway, where supporters held signs proclaiming “Dr. Moore is a hero, not a criminal,” Schultz called the charges a case of government overreach, praising Moore while criticizing former Republican Gov. Gary Herbert and Dr. Angela Dunn, the state’s former epidemiologist, for their handling of the pandemic.

SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX