West Seneca Police Officer Caught Up In Fake COVID-19 Vax Scam

A police officer with the West Seneca Police Department has been arraigned for his role in a fake COVID-19 vaccination card scheme. Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announced that two men, one of them an off-duty police officer, were arraigned the morning of Friday, October 21, 2022, before Hamburg Town Court Justice Carl W. Morgan, acting as a West Seneca Town Court Justice. The 29-year-old and 40-year-old men, both of West Seneca, were charged with one count of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree.

The United States Department of Homeland Security intercepted a package coming from China that contained fake COVID-19 vaccination cards. It was allegedly addressed to Kurt Surprenant, one of the men arrested in the case. During the investigation, officials conducted a controlled delivery of the package. They obtained a search warrant for the home.

Surprenant had allegedly made an arrangement with West Seneca Police Officer Paul Daley to get a forged COVID-19 vaccination card. Daley is accused of allegedly providing the vax card with the intent to defraud. He was off-duty at the time, but he has since been suspended from the police department following this arraignment.

Surprenant and Daley are due back in court on Tuesday, October 25, 2022, at 6:00 pm in West Seneca Town Court. Both men were released on their own recognizance. If they are convicted, both Surprenant and Daley are each facing a maximum of 7 years behind bars.

If convicted of the charge, each faces a maximum of 7 years in prison.