Defendant was found guilty of twelve count of theft of government property after he took blank Covid-19 vaccination cards from his workplace and sold them on the internet for his own personal benefit. On appeal, he argued that the government did not provide sufficient evidence to prove that the vaccination cards were government property since he took them from his employer, which had received them from the government, and not directly from the government. He also challenged the trial judge’s response to a jury question about the definition of government property. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, finding that there was sufficient evidence from which the jury could conclude that the government maintained sufficient supervision and control over the vaccination cards and that the trial court did not err in answering the jury’s question. (RIPPLE and KIRSCH, concurring)
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Criminal Court
Government Property