ATLANTA – Rong Sun, a / k / a Vicky Sun first appeared Thursday for criminally importing and illegally importing an unregistered pesticide and shipping a prohibited item as part of an online program that has the product for sale on Ebay Without a legal basis, the illegal pesticide would protect people from coronaviruses. Sun was charged with a criminal complaint filed by U.S. attorney Northern District of Georgia on April 8, 2020.
The arrest comes after an agency investigation conducted by the US Immigration and Customs Service (ICE) in coordination with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Department and the US Postal Inspection Service.
According to court records, the defendant allegedly sold the unregistered pesticide Toamit Virus Shut Out on eBay, claiming it would help protect people from viruses and reduce the risk of transmission by 90%.
Federal law regulates the manufacture, sale, distribution, and use of pesticides in the United States. Pesticides must also be registered with the EPA. The product offered by the defendant has not been registered and it is illegal to distribute or sell unregistered pesticides. Sun also allegedly imported the pesticide illegally from Japan through the US Postal Service.
“Selling this product doesn’t just violate several federal laws. it also gives people a false hope. In a global crisis like the one we are now experiencing, it is incredibly dangerous and reckless to take advantage of people’s fear of profit, ”said Robert Hammer, Atlanta homeland security investigator specialty who oversees HSI operations in Georgia and Alabama. “HSI Atlanta, in partnership with our law enforcement partners, will continue to prioritize our efforts to protect Americans from COVID-19 fraud.”
“The defendant took advantage of the current global crisis to sell an illegal product claiming it would protect people from viruses,” said US lawyer Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “We will take swift action through the Georgia COVID-19 Task Force to stop criminals being victims of coronavirus-related fraud programs in public.”
“Reliance on fraudulent products can increase the spread of COVID-19 and exacerbate the current public health emergency,” said Susan Bodine, EPA assistant administrator for enforcement and compliance. “The EPA and our law enforcement partners are working hard to keep these illegal products off shelves, off the internet, and outside of this country. We seek help from American consumers by checking the list of approved products at epa.gov/coronavirus before making any purchases. “
The public is encouraged to report suspected fraud programs related to COVID-19 (the coronavirus) by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) hotline (1-866-720-5721) or emailing the NCDF at Covid19Fraud @ dhs sends .gov.
