A California man was given an eight-month prison term on Friday for unlawfully importing, transporting, and selling pesticides that were fraudulently promoted as having the ability to shield consumers “against airborne infectious illnesses.”
On May 25, 2021, Samir Haj, 47, of San Diego, entered a plea of guilty to charges connected to the illegal importation, sale, and shipping of an unlicensed pesticide product from Japan that was promoted as a killer of airborne viruses like COVID-19.
He and his business, Eco Shield LLC, were both required to relinquish revenues totaling $427,689 and pay $86,754 in restitution. Eco Shield was also sentenced to pay an extra $42,000 in fines.
The defendants allegedly advertised and marketed EcoAirDoctor, a tiny gas-emitting badge they said could eradicate viruses up to a specified distance.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates products that make these kinds of public health claims and requires substantial testing to back up the claims of effectiveness and safety before authorising them for registration and sale in the United States. T
esting done for the defendants found that EcoAirDoctor was not registered with the EPA and that the badge was not demonstrably efficient “at killing off a useful amount of microorganisms inside the air.”
According to Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, “this prosecution sends a strong message that circumventing federal environmental and public safety laws in order to capitalise on the public’s fears during a pandemic will not be tolerated.”
“I applaud the Environmental Protection Agency, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Postal Service for their assistance in conducting the investigation that resulted in the convictions and sentences in this case.”
U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman for the Southern District of California said that the product “not only didn’t function, but it was even possibly hazardous.”
The defendant and his business will be held accountable for profiting off of Covid-19 concerns during a pandemic, according to the statement.
According to Special Agent in Charge Scot Adair of the EPA’s Criminal Investigation Program in California, “the defendants deliberately persisted in their fraudulent claims that their product offered protection against COVID-19.”
The EPA and its law enforcement partners are dedicated to bringing those who endanger people’s health accountable.
According to Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz of HSI San Diego, “Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and our government partners are committed to protecting the American public against criminal networks trying to illegally import and sell goods that could endanger the lives of American consumers for financial gain.”
We will continue to be alert and use our extensive legal authority to prevent and destroy criminal networks that are attempting to take advantage of and profit from the COVID-19 outbreak.
In order to safeguard the United States Postal Service (USPS) and the communities we serve, postal inspectors are ever-vigilant “said Carroll N. Harris, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s inspector in charge (USPIS).
“One of our major concerns is continuing to stop the harmful abuse of the postal system in the country.
Natural zeolite and sodium chlorite made up the EcoAirDoctor badge. Chlorine dioxide gas is released when the product is opened because the zeolite interacts the sodium chlorite.
The EPA has developed a reference limit of 0.00007 parts per million for long-term continuous exposure to chlorine dioxide (ppm).
If air concentrations of chlorine dioxide are higher than the recommended limit, there may be risks from inhalation.
In accordance with the paperwork given by Eco Shield LLC, viral inactivation requires a concentration of chlorine dioxide between 0.0001 and 0.1 ppm, which is higher than the limits considered safe by the EPA.
Levels below 0.0001 do not destroy viruses, according to the data.
Additionally, according to USPS rules and regulations, chlorine dioxide (nonhydrate) and sodium chlorite both belong to Hazard Class 5.1, for which shipping is not permitted.
Due to the risk of fire and explosion, it is completely forbidden to transport these products by USPS.
Chlorine dioxide may induce coughing, wheezing, and respiratory discomfort since it doesn’t need air to burn.
It may be deadly at extremely high exposure levels.
Records from Eco Shield LLC show that between March 1 and April 18, 2020, 1,744 Air Doctor Portables were sent to customers throughout the US via the USPS.
At least 300 of those shipments took place after the defendants were informed that mail-order delivery was prohibited.
The defendants imported the EcoAirDoctor emblem from Japan under false pretences that it was an air purifier rather than a pesticide, avoiding EPA scrutiny of the entry.
The entry paperwork misrepresented the nature of the commodities and devalued the consignment by more than $500,000, enabling the defendants to avoid paying $33,919 in customs fees.
As part of the sentencing, the offenders were ordered to pay $86,754 in restitution to U.S. Customs to make up for the loss of revenue and the expense of getting rid of the EcoAirDoctor badges that had been confiscated.
The sale of the pesticides that were unlawfully imported brought in significant profits for the accused.
The badges were first acquired for $6.25 apiece and then sold to the general public in the US for $20.95 each, including shipping, during the start of the epidemic.
The defendants received $1,132,950 from the sale of the badges during the first half of 2020, including sales that took place overseas.
The EPA issued a Stop, Sale, Use or Removal Order on July 24, 2020, while the Federal Trade Commission issued a warning letter on April 27, 2020, directing the corporation not to make unsupported claims for coronavirus prevention.
The offenders must forfeit $427,689 in earnings from the selling of the badges domestically as part of their sentencing.
The matter was looked into by the USPS, HSI, and the EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division.