California agency suspends alcohol license at bar where fake vaccination cards were sold
The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control earlier this month suspended the liquor license at a San Joaquin County bar, where its owner was arrested on suspicion of selling fake COVID-19 vaccination cards.
State agents on Nov. 1 posted a suspension notice, prohibiting all alcohol sales at The Old Corner Saloon, said John Carr, a spokesman for the Alcoholic Beverage Control agency. The bar is located at 18783 East Highway 88 in the small town of Clements, 12 miles northeast of Lodi.
The liquor license suspension will remain in effect for 75 days and indefinitely thereafter until the license is transferred to someone else who is acceptable to the agency, Carr told The Sacramento Bee on Tuesday. The license also is subject to revocation if a transfer is not completed within six months.
Carr said the bar’s owner recently signed a stipulation and waiver agreement that accepted the disciplinary action in lieu of requesting an administrative hearing. The suspension is the result of the investigation earlier this year into allegations of phony COVID-19 vaccination cards sold at the bar.
When someone gets vaccinated against the coronavirus, they receive a vaccination card at their first appointment. It lists which of the three authorized vaccines the person received and the date and location of each shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
People need to keep their vaccination cards as proof that they received a shot. Experts have said that the cards could eventually be needed for some activities like traveling, entering schools or using mass transit, McClatchy News reported.
Agents launched an investigation after receiving a complaint that fraudulent vaccination cards were being sold at The Old Corner Saloon, according to a May 5 news release from California’s ABC. Undercover ABC agents confirmed the allegations when they were able to buy fake vaccination cards on multiple occasions, officials said.
Todd Anderson, the owner of The Old Corner Saloon, was arrested on May 4 on suspicion of selling the fake cards, which is a violation of the California penal code.
ABC officials said the owner also was in possession of a loaded unregistered gun, which is considered a felony crime. State agents, with help from the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office, served a search warrant at the bar last spring and recovered materials related to the distribution of fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination cards.
This story was originally published November 16, 2021 at 5:03 PM with the headline "California agency suspends alcohol license at bar where fake vaccination cards were sold."
