A Utah plastic surgeon once facing 35 years in prison for allegedly distributing fake COVID-19 vaccine cards and destroying federally supplied vaccines has had all charges dismissed at the direction of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
At my direction @TheJusticeDept has dismissed charges against Dr. Kirk Moore.
Dr. Moore gave his patients a choice when the federal government refused to do so. He did not deserve the years in prison he was facing. It ends today.
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) July 12, 2025
Dr. Michael Kirk Moore and three others were indicted in 2023 for allegedly running a scheme out of the Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah in Midvale. Prosecutors said they destroyed $28,000 worth of COVID-19 vaccine doses and issued at least 1,900 fraudulent vaccination records in exchange for roughly $97,000 in payments or charitable donations.
Moore, a board-certified surgeon, allegedly injected saline into children at the request of their parents before providing them with fake vaccine cards. According to reporting by the New York Post, he and co-defendant Kristin Jackson Anderson were part of a secretive group seeking to “liberate the medical profession from government and industry conflicts of interest.”
They allegedly collaborated with office manager Kari Dee Burgoyne and receptionist Sandra Flores in the destruction of the vaccines and the issuing of fraudulent documentation. All four, along with the practice itself, were charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States and illegal disposal of government property.
Jury selection for Moore’s trial began just days ago in Salt Lake City, but on Saturday, Acting U.S. Attorney for Utah Felice John Viti filed a motion to dismiss the case, citing the “interests of justice.”
It remains unclear whether charges against Moore’s co-defendants will also be dropped.
Political and Public Support
Moore’s prosecution drew condemnation from medical freedom advocates and some political leaders who argued the federal government had overreached during the pandemic.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. previously defended Moore, saying in April that the doctor “deserves a medal for his courage and his commitment to healing.”
Attorney General Bondi’s decision to drop the case marks a significant reversal of federal policy toward those who opposed COVID-19 mandates. The move also comes amid growing scrutiny over the government’s handling of pandemic-era prosecutions.
As of publication, neither the Department of Justice nor the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Utah has clarified whether the other three defendants will remain under indictment.