Manlius pediatrician on vaccine fraud list drops lawsuit against NY, plans to fight criminal charge

Manlius, NY — A Manlius pediatrician charged criminally with forging her son’s vaccine records voluntarily withdrew a civil rights lawsuit against the state Wednesday morning.

Dr. Shareen Ismail had sued state health officials in federal court last month, accusing them of wrongfully placing her on a public list of vaccine fraudsters. She demanded removal from the list.

She voluntarily withdrew her lawsuit Wednesday morning, only hours after a syracuse.com | The Post-Standard story detailed the doctor’s fight with the state over her son’s vaccination records.

Ismail, 49, founded the Alexandre Centre for Children’s Health earlier this year. It’s located on East Genesee Street across from Green Lakes State Park.

Withdrawing the civil lawsuit did not signal any admission of wrongdoing, her civil lawyer Chad Davenport told syracuse.com | The Post-Standard. Instead, it gives Ismail and her legal team more time to focus on her felony fraud charge.

“We have voluntarily dismissed the federal civil rights lawsuit without prejudice as of today,” Davenport told syracuse.com | The Post-Standard. “This procedural step allows Dr. Ismail to focus her full attention and resources on resolving the pending criminal matter…”

Ismail was arrested Dec. 3 and charged with tampering with a public record, a felony, after authorities accused her of turning in fake vaccination records on behalf of her son to a Jamesville-DeWitt elementary school.

Her criminal defense lawyer, Shaun Chase, told syracuse.com that he had a meeting set up with county prosecutors in the “next day or two” to discuss the case. Ismail is facing possible grand jury action and a potential prison sentence if convicted of tampering with a public record.

Ismail is also embroiled in two other legal battles, Davenport, her civil lawyer, said.

Following Ismail’s arrest, her ex-husband in Florida filed an emergency petition seeking custody of their son, whose vaccination records are in question.

Davenport said that a hearing in Family Court was originally scheduled for Thursday, conflicting with an appearance on her civil rights lawsuit in Albany.

“This effectively forced Dr. Ismail into an impossible position where she would have had to choose between defending her constitutional rights in federal court or defending her parental rights in Family Court,” he said.

In addition to the criminal case and the custody battle, Ismail is also suing the J-D school district for not accepting her son’s vaccine records, Davenport said.

Ismail previously told syracuse.com that her son is unable to go to school because state health officials didn’t believe his vaccination records are valid.

Her son had spent three years at the Montessori School of Syracuse before administrators there became suspicious of his vaccine status. He was excluded from school on Sept. 16 and hasn’t been back since.

Ismail then attempted to send him to Tecumseh Elementary School, in DeWitt. But he was barred from attending there, too.

She filed a lawsuit Nov. 25 seeking a state judge to order J-D to take him as a student. That case remains pending, Davenport said.

Given all of those legal fights, Ismail decided to put off her civil rights lawsuit against the state, Davenport said.

“We will continue to vigorously defend Dr. Ismail’s rights on all fronts,” Davenport concluded.