A Queensland woman and self titled "spiritual insights coach" made $90, 000 issuing false COVID-19 exemptions as a fake doctor, the Southport Magistrates Court has been told.
Maria Carmela Pau pleaded guilty on Wednesday to multiple counts of taking a title, name, word or description to indicate she was a health practitioner.
Last year she issued more than 1,000 fake exemption forms to residents claiming it would prevent them from needing to wear a mask, take a PCR test or get the COVID-19 vaccine.
She was fined $25, 000 with no conviction recorded.
Pau runs an online charity and works as a "spiritual insights" and recovery coach aiding patients in addiction recovery.
She does not have a doctorate in medicine, but instead a research doctorate, and is not registered with the Australian Health Practitioner's Regulation Agency or Medicare.
On Wednesday the Southport Magistrates Court heard Pau charged $75 for the certificates and issued up to 1,200 of them.
Pau was arrested and charged at a Labrador address in October last year, where police located hundreds of the false certificates.
At the time, Detective Acting Inspector Damien Powell said police were made aware of Pau by a concerned member of the public.
"This information triggered an ongoing investigation across a few suburbs in south-east Queensland, prior to the search warrant we spoke with AHPRA, the Australian Health Practitioner's Regulation Agency in relation to the individual.
He said Pau was "anti-COVID" and "does not believe people should be forced into vaccinations".
