A Canadian casino magnate and his actress wife are accused of posing as motel workers to receive COVID-19 vaccines intended for indigenous residents of a remote Yukon community.
Rodney Baker, 55, and his 32-year-old wife Ekaterina Baker allegedly rented a private jet to Beaver Creek on Jan. 21 to receive doses of the Moderna shot, the CBC reported.
“What they did effectively was endanger their community and our isolation team,” Community Services Minister John Streicker told Yukon on Monday.
“I’m pretty mad about the whole thing.”
Staff at a mobile clinic administered the vaccine to the approximately 100 residents of Beaver Creek, most of whom are members of the White River First Nation.
According to the Yukon News, the wealthy couple apparently lied to employees at the clinic about where they lived and worked.
However, the couple brought suspicion when they asked at the airport after receiving their shots, Streicker said.
Clinic staff warned authorities after the motel confirmed that the Bakers were not actually new employees.
Officers first searched for the couple looking for a spot in nearby Whitehorse where they had to search in quarantine – and eventually found them at the airport, preparing to fly back to Vancouver, the reports said.
“We just did not expect anyone to go so long as to effectively mislead the team into being vaccinated, and I think we all felt pretty offended about the whole thing,” Streicker told the CBC.
The bakers were each beaten with two charges under the Yukon Civil Emergency Measures Act, one because they did not isolate themselves and the other because they did not follow a travel statement.
The maximum penalty imposed on them is a fine of up to $ 1,150 and / or up to six months’ imprisonment.
Rodney Baker, who reportedly earned $ 10.6 million in 2019 as CEO of the Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, resigned Sunday.
The company, which owns several casinos in Canada, has been under investigation since last year in an investigation into allegations of corruption and money laundering.
According to reports, the mogul married Ekaterina, a Russian-born actress, in 2017.
The White River First Nation condemned the couple’s actions in a statement Saturday, calling on the couple to face tougher penalties.
“We are deeply concerned about the actions of individuals who endanger our elders and vulnerable people to tackle selfishness for selfish purposes,” Chief Angela Demit said in a statement.
The community, she said, chose to receive the vaccines “given our remote, elderly and high-risk population, as well as limited access to health care.”
“While we understand that many want to be vaccinated immediately, it is not appropriate to adhere to the applicable rules and approach our community in this way.”