ST. LOUIS — Federal officials are saying a chiropractor from Creve Coeur should be held in civil contempt and fined if he continues to make false claims that his vitamin products are more effective than the coronavirus vaccine.
In a federal filing Friday, the Federal Trade Commission said Eric Nepute has ignored a consent order and continues to lie about his vitamins and their effectiveness against COVID.
Federal officials want a judge to order Nepute to take down any recordings of a radio show containing false claims and pay $500 for every day that they remain up.
In April 2021, the U.S. Attorney's office sued Nepute on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission, saying Nepute and his company, Quickwork LLC, were selling “their products by disseminating misinformation, exploiting fears in the midst of a pandemic."
Even after being warned, Nepute falsely claimed vitamins sold by his company, which does business as "Wellness Warrior," were more effective than vaccines, the FTC said.
The FTC action was the first case in the country filed under the federal COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act.
In May, without admitting any of the FTC's allegations, Nepute signed a consent order agreeing not to claim that his vitamin products would treat or cure COVID-19, that they had been proven to do so in studies or were equal to or better than vaccines.
In December U.S. District Judge Ronnie White denied Nepute's motion to dismiss the case, as well as his lawyers' argument that federal officials...
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