CAMDEN – A Maple Shade man who sold unregistered pesticides he falsely claimed were effective against coronavirus has received a five-year prison term.
Paul Andrecola, 63, also was ordered to forfeit $2.7 million in profits from more than 150 sales of the pesticides from March 2020 through May 2021, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Jersey.
The buyers included a police department in Delaware, a fire department in Virginia, a medical clinic in Georgia, and a school district in Wisconsin, the federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
It said “numerous” federal agencies, including the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Forest Service also bought the pesticides, which were marketed under the GCLEAN and G200 brands.
U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said Andrecola “profited on the fears of the American people during the height of concerns about transmission of COVID-19.”
Federal law requires pesticides must be registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency before they can be sold or distributed.
Claims that a pesticide can kill a pathogen, such as the coronavirus, must be authorized by the EPA based on a review of data.
The EPA had not approved the Andrecola's products for use against the coronavirus,, the statement said.
“Andrecola placed another company’s EPA registration numbers on his company’s products and falsely marketed that his products were EPA-approved to kill coronavirus,” the statement asserted.
It said Andrecola, “or...
Veteran Bollywood actor Shakti Kapoor has strongly rejected false reports circulating on social media claiming his death, calling the rumours “completely fake” and confirming that he is “healthy an...