By Shira Hanua

(JTA) — After an Orthodox-owned health clinic appeared to be administering COVID-19 vaccines to members of the public contrary to state guidelines, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the investigation would be referred to the state attorney general’s office and that vaccine-related fraud would come with consequences.

“We will not tolerate any fraud in the vaccination process,” Cuomo said at a news conference Monday. “Anyone who engages in fraud is going to be held accountable.”

His comments come two days after New York State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker announced a criminal investigation into ParCare Community Health Network, a chain of clinics operating in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Orange County, for potentially obtaining the vaccines “fraudulently” and administering them to members of the public when only certain groups are eligible to receive it.

One prominent Modern Orthodox rabbi who received a vaccine at a ParCare clinic said he had not been aware that the vaccines were administered improperly and that he would not have done it had he known the process was not above board.

“We want to send a clear signal to the providers that if you violate the law on these vaccinations, we will find out and you will be prosecuted,” Cuomo said Monday.

ParCare, which maintains that it obtained the vaccines appropriately, is owned by Gary Schlesinger, a prominent Hasidic businessman. Schlesinger’s Facebook page includes pictures of him with various New York elected officials, including state Attorney General Letitia James.

“We are actively cooperating with the State of New York’s inquiries,” ParCare said in a statement Monday afternoon. “Governor Cuomo himself stressed the importance of getting all the facts and providing the facts to the state is exactly what we have done and will continue to do.”

Cuomo also announced he would sign an executive order Monday that could make health providers who engage in vaccine-related fraud liable for fines of up to $1 million and could revoke state licenses. It was not immediately clear if the state would revoke providers’ general medical licenses or just licenses to administer the vaccine.

Rabbi Hershel Schachter, a leading Modern Orthodox rabbi who received a COVID-19 vaccine Thursday at the clinic now under investigation said he was led to believe that the vaccination was above board and would not have gotten it had he known otherwise.

Schachter and Rabbi Mordechai Willig, both head teachers at Yeshiva University and major authorities on Jewish law, were photographed getting the vaccine through ParCare Community Health Network. State health officials say ParCare gave the vaccine to members of the public before that was allowed and may have obtained the vaccines “fraudulently.” 

The fact that health care workers and nursing home residents and staff are the first to receive the vaccines has been widely publicized. Before an online Torah lesson Sunday night, Schachter said he and Willig had both asked whether the vaccines they had been offered were legal and legitimate and that they hoped to encourage others to be vaccinated by publicizing their own vaccinations.

“We were led to believe that it was,” he said. He added, “If either of us would have been told that this was inappropriate, that it wasn’t legitimate, we would not have done that.”

Schachter, already a sought-after authority on matters of Jewish law for decades, became an outspoken leader urging compliance with pandemic guidelines early on in the crisis. He issued dozens of written Jewish legal opinions throughout the spring and summer, addressing a range of questions involving Jewish ritual and social distancing and has frequently encouraged mask wearing. Earlier this month, he said on a podcast that jumping the queue to obtain a vaccine was not permitted under Jewish law.

He and Willig were photographed getting the vaccine, Schachter said, to inspire confidence in the vaccine.

“You all realize that I feel it is very important we should all take this vaccine,” he said Sunday.

BoroPark24, a Yiddish news service, reported on Dec. 21 that ParCare had obtained 3,500 doses of the vaccine produced by Moderna and would vaccinate 500 people that day. ParCare’s CEO, a Hasidic businessman named Gary Schlesinger, told BoroPark24 that ParCare had gotten permission to vaccinate patients and that only people over 60 or with underlying conditions would be eligible at first. The next day, Schlesinger retweeted a picture of himself receiving the vaccine.

On Saturday, New York State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said on Saturday that state police would investigate ParCare and people associated with it. Schlesinger deleted the photograph of his own vaccination sometime after that.

Main Photo: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said vaccine-related fraud would not be tolerated after the state health commissioner said an Orthodox-owned clinic would be investigated fro administering the vaccine to members of the public. (Screenshot from YouTube)