An Illinois woman was charged Monday with two misdemeanors in Hawaii and accused of using a fake vaccination card to bypass the state's coronavirus testing and quarantine requirements.
The woman, Chloe Mrozak, 24, of Oak Lawn, Illinois, was arrested Saturday at the Honolulu airport as she tried to board a flight to the U.S. mainland after a five-day stay in Hawaii.
The state's Covid regulations require a "mandatory self-quarantine which begins from the day of entry and lasts ten days or the duration of the person's presence in the state, whichever is shorter," the charges state.
When state investigators checked Mrozak's vaccine record, they found that her vaccination card included a misspelling of the vaccine manufacturer Moderna, which was written as "Maderna."
State investigators couldn't find Mrozak at her listed hotel after they got a tip from airport staffers that she may have used fake vaccination papers. When they contacted her vaccination location, listed as "Delaware," they found no record of her having received any coronavirus vaccine in the state.
According to charges filed Monday in Hawaii, Mrozak faces two misdemeanor counts of violating Gov. David Ige's emergency proclamation — one alleging that she uploaded a "falsified document" to the state's Covid-19 vaccination system and another alleging that she failed to complete her mandatory 10-day self-quarantine after she arrived in the state.
Wilson Lau, a special agent with the state attorney general's investigation division, was unable to establish contact with Mrozak at a Honolulu hotel, so he searched for her on Facebook, identifying a "distinctive tattoo on her left hip area."
The hip tattoo is what helped investigators identify Mrozak at the airport and arrest her as she tried to leave the state.
James Tabe, a public defender whose office is representing Mrozak, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Gary H. Yamashiroya, special assistant to the state attorney general, said in a statement that his department is "committed to vigorous enforcement of the Governor's Emergency Proclamation."
Yamashiroya said Mrozak had a court appearance Wednesday and is scheduled to appear again via Zoom on Sept. 22.
"Everyone should know that falsified CDC cards are a federal offense and in Hawaii, using falsified proof of testing or vaccination documents for travel into the state is a misdemeanor that carries a fine of up to $5,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year for each count," Yamashiroya said. "Our department will prosecute these crimes to the fullest extent provided by the law."