Did Antonio Brown commit a felony by obtaining a fake vaccination card?
Well, it appears as if Antonio Brown is at it again. Is he earning yet another All-Pro nod in his Hall of Fame career? No. Is he being named to another Pro Bowl team? Not quite.
This time, we have a more recent sighting of "Mr. Big Chest," an alter-ego moniker given to Brown by himself. In the most recent episode of off-field issues for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver, he has been suspended, along with Mike Edwards and John Franklin III, for "misrepresenting their vaccination status."
In layman's terms, this means they lied about being vaccinated. With this being the case, did Brown commit a crime by faking a vaccination card?
Did Antonio Brown commit a felony by producing a fake vaccination card?
More on Bucs’ WR Antonio Brown obtaining a fake COVID-19 vaccination card, as his former chef is alleging:
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The simple answer here is...yes. In March of this year, the Federal Bureau of Investigations stated that any type of falsifying of a federal seal is, indeed, a federal crime. Many may not have paid attention to this, but the vaccine cards have two federal seals on them.
One of the seals is from HHS, and the other is from the CDC. The punishment for this could include a fine and also up to five years in prison.
Yikes!
This is a bit different than using a fake vaccine card as that punishment is not as likely to lead to time served but could lead to probation. These rules are also dependent upon which state the crime has occurred in, as several states have their own laws on forgery and falsifying vaccine records.
In other words, Antonio Brown could find himself in a world of trouble, which, of course, is no strange thing to "Mr. Big Chest."
Antonio Brown's vaccine card debacle began when he disrespected his former chef
To think, all of this controversy may have possibly been avoided if only Antonio Brown had paid his debts.
A few months ago, there was a report from Antonio Brown's former chef that said the Pro Bowl receiver stiffed him on a $10,000 bill. Steven Ruiz, the former chef in question, was owed money from Brown for services rendered.
The chef said that Brown and his team forced him out of the house where he had already performed his services without being paid. This led the chef to tell the story of how Brown's girlfriend, Cydney Moreau, offered him $500 to provide a fake vaccination card for Brown.
Ruiz even displayed screenshots of text messages between him and Moreau, regarding the conversation about obtaining fake cards for Brown.
@NFLSTROUD According to Steven Ruiz's screenshot, Brown's girlfriend Cydney Moreau asked the chef to purchase fake vaccine cards for A.B., the Bucs player.
Ruiz says Brown later showed him cards that Brown said he bought for himself and Moreau: trib.al/8bf1myT https://t.co/3Kmo3PQn08
All of that leads us here with Antonio Brown. He is, once again, in hot water for the improper treatment of someone providing services for him.
If only "Mr. Big Chest" would listen to Antonio Brown on, as well as, off the field, he might not be in this predicament.