DOJ Shuts Down Website Selling Fraudulent COVID-19 Vaccine
- March 27, 2020
The Department of Justice (DOJ) took its first official action to combat fraud related to the coronavirus pandemic, the agency announced March 22.
According to court filings, the operators of the website “coronavirusmedicalkit.com” are engaging in a wire fraud scheme, which claims to offer consumers access to World Health Organization vaccine kits in exchange for a shipping charge of $4.95, which consumers would pay by entering their credit card information on the website.
U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman issued a temporary restraining order requiring that the registrar of the fraudulent website immediately take action to block public access to it.
While the site will be immediately shuttered, the government’s investigation into the website and its operators continues, the agency said.
“The Department of Justice will not tolerate criminal exploitation of this national emergency for personal gain,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the DOJ’s Civil Division. “We will use every resource at the government’s disposal to act quickly to shut down these most despicable of scammers, whether they are defrauding consumers, committing identity theft, or delivering malware.”