Seattle Man Arrested For Selling Untested 'Covid Vaccine'

KEY POINTS

Johny Stine has been charged with introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce after he advertised his concoction
He began advertising the vaccine in March 2020, when the outbreak was reported
The authorities seized his vaccine and raided his warehouse after he flouted orders to stop advertising and selling the vaccine

A Seattle man has been arrested for advertising and selling a "COVID-19 vaccine," which he allegedly developed in his lab.

Johnny Stine, 56, priced his vaccine between $400 and $1000, and has been injecting people with the untested and unknown substance, claiming it was the vaccine for COVID-19, said U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran said in a statement, reported New York Daily News.

According to the Department of Justice, Stine has been charged with introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce after he advertised his concoction. "Preying on our fears in the midst of this pandemic is unconscionable,” the statement said. If convicted, he could face up to a year in prison.

Stine came under the scanner of federal authorities as early as 2020 March when he advertised jabs against Coronavirus for $400 on his Facebook page, said the statement. There was no vaccine in the market then.

When an undercover investigator from Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approached him in March, Stine told him he had a vaccine against COVID-19, which he developed by altering a vaccine that can attack cancer tumors. A month later, Stine offered to travel to Oregon and California to vaccinate the agent's family members, said the statement.

Though the Washington State Attorney General issued a cease and desist letter to Stine in April, he continued to sell the vaccine.

Despite agreeing that he would not promote or sell his vaccine, Stine traveled to Idaho in August to vaccinate another undercover agent, said authorities. Following this, authorities seized his vaccine and raided his Redmond warehouse, where he developed the vaccine. But, he wasn't arrested until Thursday.

The authorities were also informed earlier this month that at least one person was hospitalized after taking the injection.

“The very idea that someone would prey upon fearful people seeking a COVID vaccine in the midst of a global pandemic is not only despicable but potentially deadly behavior,” Special Agent in Charge Robert Hammer, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in the Pacific Northwest, said in a statement.

During the investigation, it also came to light that Stine was selling untested “vaccines” to cancer patients to battle their malignant tumors.