A Georgia resident made her first appearance on federal charges of illegally importing and selling an unregistered pesticide through eBay, claiming that it would help protect individuals from viruses.
Rong Sun, aka Vicky Sun, 34, of Fayetteville, Georgia, was charged with a criminal complaint filed by the US Attorney’s Office on April 8, 2020, and made her first appearance Thursday before US Magistrate Judge Alan J. Baverman.
“The defendant took advantage of the current worldwide crisis to sell an illegal product with the claim that it protects individuals from viruses,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.
According to Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court, the pesticide was marketed as “Virus Shut Out” and “Stop The Virus.” It is actually an unregistered pesticide known as Toamit Virus Shut Out.
Additionally, the eBay listing stated that “its main ingredient is ClO2, which is a new generation of widely effective and powerful fungicide recognized internationally .
“Reliance on fraudulent products may increase the spread of COVID-19 and exacerbate the current public health emergency,” said Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Susan Bodine. “EPA and our law enforcement partners are working hard to keep these illegal products off the shelves, off the internet, and out of this country. We ask American consumers to help by checking the list of approved products found at epa.gov/coronavirus before making any purchases.”
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