“The unlawful spreading of Covid-19 misinformation to sell a product will not be tolerated.”Īcting Chairwoman Rebecca Kelly Slaughter of the Federal Trade Commission, which is also joining the case, said: “The defendants’ claims that their products can stand in for approved Covid-19 vaccines are particularly troubling: we need to be doing everything we can to stop bogus health claims that endanger consumers.” “Deceptive marketing of unproven products discourages consumers from following health and safety guidelines provided by public health officials,” he added. “The Justice Department is committed to preventing the unlawful marketing of unproven Covid-19 treatments,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division.
This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. The complaint seeks civil penalties and injunctive relief to stop the defendants from continuing to make deceptive advertising claims. They also allegedly advertised, without scientific evidence, that their supplements were equally or more effective therapies for Covid-19 than the currently available vaccines. The act makes it unlawful to “engage in a deceptive act or practice” relating to the treatment, cure, prevention, mitigation, or diagnosis of the coronavirus.Īccording to a complaint filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, the defendants advertised that their vitamin D and zinc nutritional supplements could prevent or treat Covid-19 without competent or reliable scientific evidence to support their claims. This is the first enforcement action alleging violations of the Covid-19 Consumer Protection Act, passed in December 2020.
These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.” The Independent has contacted Wellness Warrior for comment and attempts were made to reach Mr Bannon.Ī disclaimer at the foot of the website advertising the partnership with the podcast reads: “These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Named as defendants in the justice department’s case are Eric Anthony Nepute and Quickwork LLC, doing business as Wellness Warrior.