DOJ drops charges against Utah physician accused in COVID-19 fraud scheme

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has dismissed all federal charges against Michael Kirk Moore Jr., M.D., a Utah-based plastic surgeon accused of orchestrating a COVID-19 vaccine fraud scheme that included falsifying records, destroying government-issued vaccines and administering saline shots to minors.

“At my direction, [The U.S. Department of Justice] has dismissed charges against Dr. Kirk Moore,” Bondi posted on X, formerly Twitter. “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.”

The indictment, originally filed in January 2023, alleged that Moore and his co-defendants ran the operation out of the Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah, destroying more than $28,000 worth of COVID-19 vaccines and distributing over 1,900 fake Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccination record cards in exchange for cash or donations. Moore had pleaded not guilty.

Court records indicate that trial proceedings had recently begun in Salt Lake City before the case was dismissed over the weekend. In a motion to dismiss, Acting U.S. Attorney in Utah, Felice John Viti, wrote that the decision was made “in the interests of justice,” according to a report from The New York Times.

The accusations

According to the 2023 release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Utah, Moore and three others — including his neighbor, office manager Sandra Flores, and two associates — conspired to defraud the U.S. government by selling fraudulent vaccine cards for $50 each and injecting minors with saline at their parents’ request so the children would believe they had received a COVID-19 vaccine.

The operation reportedly took place between May 2021 and September 2022. Investigators said Moore’s team administered no real vaccine doses and issued cards marked as if they had.

The charges included conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to convert, sell and dispose of government property, conversion, sale and disposal of government property, and aiding and abetting.

Prosecutors from the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-OIG), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) described the alleged conduct as deliberate deception that endangered public health and undermined trust.

Political support after charges are dropped

The dismissal drew praise from conservative lawmakers and Trump-aligned officials who have increasingly cast pandemic-era prosecutions as examples of federal overreach.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia), who had publicly pressured Bondi to intervene, said on X, “Thank you AG Pam Bondi for dropping the WRONGFUL charges against Dr. Kirk Moore! [Moore] is a hero who refused to inject his patients with a government mandated unsafe vaccine!”

Greene added: “Thankfully, as soon as I told Pam Bondi about Dr. Moore’s case, she swiftly moved to drop the charges against him. This is a big win!”

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) also celebrated the move on X, writing: “Glad that we could ensure Dr. Moore remains a free man! Thank you for standing with the countless Americans who endured too many official lies, mandates and lockdowns during COVID.”

The case had become a rallying point among some vaccine skeptics and opponents of pandemic-era mandates. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. previously praised Moore on X in April, stating: “Dr. Moore deserves a medal for his courage and his commitment to healing!”

In the context of the Trump administration

The decision to dismiss the charges against Moore is consistent with a broader pivot by the Trump administration, which has rolled back vaccine mandates and redirected COVID-19 public health strategy.

• In January, President Trump ordered reinstatement of military personnel dismissed for refusing vaccines.
• In May, HHS dropped the COVID-19 vaccine from the nation’s immunization schedule for pregnant women and healthy children, prompting a lawsuit by major physician groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American College of Physicians (ACP) and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM).
• In June, Kennedy dismissed all 17 sitting members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), replacing them with eight new handpicked appointees — a move criticized by leading physician groups like the ACP and American Medical Association (AMA).

The charges against Moore were brought under the Biden administration. With charges now dropped under Trump, fuel is added to the ongoing partisan debate over how the pandemic was prosecuted and policed.

For physicians, the case and its outcome could raise questions about the limits of professional discretion, the criminalization of dissent during public health emergencies and how regulatory frameworks should respond to future crises.

As of Monday, July 14, Moore remains a licensed physician in Utah, according to state records. It is not immediately clear whether charges against Moore’s co-defendants — including the Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah — have also been dismissed.