Dr. Sherri Tenpenny, a nationally known “medical freedom” activist based in Cuyahoga County, owes nearly $700,000 in back taxes, interest and penalties, a federal judge ruled.
U.S. District Court Judge J. Philip Calabrese issued a ruling April 21 that Tenpenny owes $698,982 for tax years 2001, 2012 and 2013.
Tenpenny, an osteopathic doctor licensed since 1984, attracted national attention in 2021 when she testified in favor of Ohio legislation to block vaccine requirements and mask mandates during the global COVID pandemic.
During her testimony at the Ohio Statehouse, Tenpenny rattled off misinformation about COVID vaccines, including the baseless claim that they can connect to 5G technology.
“I’m sure you’ve seen the pictures all over the internet of people who have had these shots and now they’re magnetized,” Tenpenny said during the hearing. “They can put a key on their forehead, it sticks. They can put spoons and forks all over them and they can stick because now we think that there’s a metal piece to that.”
The COVID-19 vaccine does not contain microchips or make metal objects stick to recipients. She also claimed that some metropolitan areas were “liquifying dead bodies and pouring them into the water supply.”
The Ohio State Medical Board suspended her medical license in 2023 and reinstated in 2024.
State government reporter Laura Bischoff can be reached at lbischoff@usatodayco.com and @lbischoff on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio doctor who said COVID shot makes people magnetic owes $700K in taxes
Reporting by Laura A. Bischoff, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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