Drug Company Faces Charges After Claiming Its Vitamin D Product Can Lower COVID-19 Risk

Authorities call out a Georgia company Fusion Health and Vitality for falsely claiming their vitamin D product lowers the risk of contracting coronavirus infection.

Federal prosecutors called the attention of Matthew Ryncarz, owner of Fusion Health and Vitality, for making false claims on the vitamin D product that they sell. Savannah federal authorities said that the company, which operates as Pharm Origins, falsely claims their product Immune shot reduces the risk of contracting coronavirus infection by at least 50%, US News & World Report revealed.

The prosecutors, in a news release Monday, said that the product "bore false and misleading labels," causing authorities to file charges against the company and its officials for selling a misbranded medication. Fusion Health and Vitality also issued a statement on the same day saying federal authorities called their attention over claims they made on promotion materials for Immune Shot, the vitamin D product they marketed for several weeks in March and April.

"These marketing statements led to an inquiry by federal authorities who have the important job of protecting against unsafe products and illegal conduct related to the coronavirus pandemic," said company officials in a statement. They also claimed to have removed the statements almost right after authorities contacted them about it.

In March, Ryncarz launched a website through Pharm Origins and started selling the controversial product for $19 each for a bottle, reports said. Their target customers were those people who were more than 50 years old, prosecutors revealed.

Sales pitches on the website included statements like, "We are offering you the exclusive price of only $19 per bottle because we know that Immune Shot could be the most important formula in the WORLD right now due to the new pandemic." In the federal authorities' news release, U.S. Attorney Bobby Christine reiterated that their office is devoted to making sure businesses do not take advantage of any crisis, particularly the current health problem, and manipulating the fear of people to unlawfully make profits.

The U.S. attorney also revealed federal authorities had "lengthy discussions" with the company in question. "After these long talks, both sides agreed that it is best if the company and its owner resolve this issue in court," according to the statement of federal authorities. It added that both parties agreed that some of the promotional statements made for Immune Shot led it to be categorized as a "misbranded" medication under FDA law and policies. The law that governs this type of situation disregards intent, meaning it does not care whether or not there is an intention to break the law.