A former Wisconsin pharmacist pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to charges of attempting to spoil dozens of vials of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Federal prosecutors charged Steven Brandenburg, 46, of Grafton, in late January on two counts of attempted tampering with consumer products.
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He pleaded guilty to both charges during a video conference with US District Judge Brett Ludwig in Milwaukee. The charges carry a combined maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and $ 500,000 in fines.
Prosecutors agreed to recommend that Ludwig give him at least three years and five months and at most four years and three months for his guilty pleas. The judge scheduled a sentencing hearing for June 8.
Steven Brandenburg during his arrest. Twitter
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Prosecutors had asked Ludwig to jail Brandenburg pending sentencing, arguing in a presentation that he has extremist views, including that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were false, the Earth is flat, and vaccines were “from the devil. “. He also brought guns in a suitcase to his job at Advocate Aurora Health, they wrote.
Brandenburg also secretly substituted saline for the flu vaccine he was mandated to receive and persuaded several co-workers to secretly swap saline for the flu vaccine as well, according to the filing.
His attorney, Jason Baltz, argued that Brandenburg was going through a contentious divorce when he tried to sabotage the vaccine.
The vials of the Covid-19 vaccine, due to the context of the pandemic, became almost priceless. AFP
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He is no longer in a position to handle any drugs, Baltz said, noting that Advocate Aurora Health fired him in December and state regulators revoked his pharmacist license on Monday.
He also turned over all his weapons to the sheriff’s deputies, the attorney said. Ludwig said having “crazy” opinions is not a basis for detaining someone, but ordered Brandenburg to undergo GPS monitoring until sentencing and undergo a mental health evaluation.
Police arrested Brandenburg on Dec. 31 as part of an investigation into how 57 vials of the Moderna vaccine were left for hours outside a refrigerator at Advocate Aurora Health in Grafton, a Milwaukee suburb, over Christmas. The vials contained enough vaccine to inoculate more than 500 people.
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