You are reading

Managers Of Queens Business Charged With Selling Ineffective COVID-19 Air Sanitizer

Coronavirus (Unsplash @cdc)

Nov. 10, 2020 By Christian Murray

Two men who allegedly sold air sanitizers falsely claiming that their product killed the COVID-19 virus were busted by the feds today, authorities said.

The defendants, Po Shan Wong, 55, and Zhen Wu, 35, allegedly sold air sanitizers that they marketed on behalf of JCD Distribution, a College Point business, claiming that the product eradicated the novel coronavirus.

These claims, however, were false and the product did not provide consumers with protection from the virus, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn. Instead, the air sanitizers they were peddling contained dangerous pesticides that were not registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Wong, from Long Island, and Wu, from Flushing, allegedly advertised the product between May 2020 and July 2020 via the JCD website and Facebook page as well as over the phone. According to authorities, the pair who were managers for the company made untested claims regarding its effectiveness.

The air sanitizers they sold looked like credit cards and the pair pitched the product as providing constant on-the-go protection. The images on Facebook depicting the product—dubbed “Virus Shut Out Cards”–showed people wearing them on a lanyard around their neck or on a lapel of a man’s suit.

The cards were sold in minimum quantities of 50, at a cost of $9.50 per card.

The pair claimed via their online marketing that the cards emitted chlorine dioxide that provided protection from the virus. However, chlorine dioxide—a gas—is a bleaching agent and a pesticide as defined by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act. The gas can cause severe respiratory problems.

Authorities charged the pair with conspiring to distribute and sell one or more pesticides that are not registered with the Environmental Protection Agency. The pair each face up to a year in prison.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has opened a flood gate of fraudsters whose only goal is to take advantage of the public with bogus and unsubstantiated claims of virus protection products, such as this one,” said Philip Bartlett, the inspector in charge of the New York division of the United States Postal Inspection Service.

“Consumers should be skeptical of any device, elixir, lotion or potion claiming to prevent or cure COVID-19 because to date, there is no such product,” Bartlett added.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Suspect sought for threatening L train rider in Ridgewood before snatching chain: NYPD

Police from the 104th Precinct in Ridgewood and Transit District 33 are looking for a suspect who allegedly menaced an L train rider before snatching her pricey chain on Tuesday, June 17.

The 25-year-old victim was aboard a southbound train at the Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenue subway station just after 12:15 p.m. when a stranger approached her, made a threatening statement, and forcibly removed the chain from her neck, police said Tuesday, adding that the value of the stolen chain was approximately $700. The suspect fled the station in an unknown direction and remains at large. The victim was not injured during the encounter.

District 30 Democratic race too close to call as candidates await RCV results

The three candidates hoping to succeed term-limited Council Member Robert Holden in District 30 will have to wait until July 1 to learn the outcome of the Democratic primary, as ranked-choice voting tabulations continue.

Civic leader Phil Wong emerged as the frontrunner on primary night, securing just over 36% of the vote, with 95% of scanners reported, according to the Board of Elections. Businessman Paul Pogozelski followed closely with nearly 32%, while Dermot Smyth placed third with just over 30%.