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A man in Washington state has been arrested on federal charges for allegedly administering unauthorized Covid-19 vaccine to patients.
Johnny Stine, of Redmond, has scoured the country billing patients between $ 400 and $ 1,000 for each stroke, the Justice Department said in a press release. He was arrested on Thursday for bringing ill-branded drugs into interstate commerce.
Stine, a self-proclaimed biotech executive, began selling the illegal vaccine in March.
US Attorney Brian T. Moran said the vaccine was “untested, untested and potentially dangerous.”
Authorities began investigating Stine in March after the Food and Drug Administration was alerted to his social media posts. An undercover agent contacted Stine, who said he had a coronavirus vaccine for sale.
“Stine said his main biotechnology effort was to create vaccines that attack cancerous tumors. He said he used a similar method to develop his Covid-19 vaccine,” the press release read.
The Justice Department did not say how many people Stine would have treated. The Seattle Times said it was around 30 people, citing a lawsuit filed in King County.
In June, Stine signed a consent decree to reimburse the roughly 30 people to whom he sold his Covid-19 “spike protein” vaccine, the outlet reported.
Federal officials said someone contacted the FDA about Stine’s unauthorized vaccine, claiming their friend was injected. This month, investigators learned that another person who allegedly received one of his vaccines had been hospitalized with the coronavirus, according to the press release.
During the investigation, Stine told an undercover agent he would be traveling to Oregon and California to vaccinate members of the officer’s family. He had told another undercover agent he would be heading to Idaho to vaccinate the agent, federal investigators said.
Authorities said Stine was repeatedly told to stop selling the unauthorized vaccine, but he continued to sell it.
“The very idea of someone preying on fearful people looking for a Covid vaccine in the midst of a global pandemic is not only despicable behavior, but potentially deadly,” the special agent said in charges Robert Hammer, who oversees Homeland Security investigative operations in the Pacific. North West.
“Snake oil sellers like this one who put consumers at risk should take this arrest as a stern warning. HSI, along with our law enforcement partners, remains committed to protecting the community from these criminals and the dangerous substances they sell. “
Stine, 55, could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. His lawyer did not return a request for comment. If convicted, Stine faces up to a year in prison.
Only two Covid-19 vaccines, Moderna and Pfizer, have been approved for emergency use by the FDA.
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