Police allege Ottawa paramedic gave fake COVID-19 vaccine certificate to keep job

A paramedic in Ottawa is facing fraud-related charges after police allege he falsified his proof of COVID-19 vaccine to get around the service’s vaccination mandate.

The Ottawa police said Thursday they got a tip on Oct. 21 that a member of the Ottawa Paramedic Service had used a fraudulent certificate to attest to his vaccination status, a condition of employment for city workers.

The paramedic service’s own professional standards section then did its own investigation and found the documents submitted were forged, police said.

On Wednesday, police charged 30-year-old Ali Abdelgani with uttering a forged document, obtaining by false pretence, and forgery.

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He was released on an undertaking with conditions and a scheduled court appearance.

Police say that falsifying vaccine credentials is a criminal offence, and urge anyone who might know about similar types of fraud to contact Ottawa police at 613-236-1222 ext. 5492.

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