Here's the thing about Vlad:

He's been here for a long time, just kind of quietly does his own thing.

I don't think he's going to use his merits to sneak an alt into a sig campaign or for any more nefarious purpose. Even if he has one or more alts that he's merited, he doesn't really use them for anything other than to bolster his own ego.

Ergo, I don't think there's anything worth worrying about here. Even if his recently-merited followers are kind of dickheads.