Utah Doctor Faces Fake COVID-19 Cure Lawsuit

The Department of Justice recently took legal action against a Utah doctor and his company, after allegedly selling a fake COVID-19 cure.

Since 2014, My Doctor Suggests LLC, GP Silver LLC and executive Gordon Pedersen have reportedly promoted silver products as a way to treat various diseases such as arthritis, diabetes, influenza, and pneumonia.

The “Silver Solution,” “Silver Gel,” “Silver Soap,” and “all Natural Silver Lozenge” allegedly contain precious metal silver as their “secret” ingredient.

Although these pseudoscience claims are not proven, the defendants upped their game in early 2020 when they reportedly began to market their silver products as a COVID-19 cure or preventative. These promotions were featured on their YouTube videos, podcasts and websites, according to the coronavirus lawsuit.

“In these promotions, Defendant Gordon Pedersen falsely claims that My Doctor Suggests silver products can destroy coronavirus, and remove it from the body, assuring the user will never get COVID-19,” the COVID-19 cure lawsuit notes.

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“He then directs listeners to the website MyDoctorSuggests.com where Defendants sell My Doctor Suggests silver products and ship them in interstate commerce.”

The Department of Justice states that there is “no recognized cure” for the virus currently behind the global pandemic. In fact, there is not even a drug product which has been proved to be safe and effective for the prevention or treatment of the disease, the COVID-19 cure lawsuit notes.

“Defendants know that My Doctor Suggests silver products are not a proven cure or treatment for COVID-19,” the COVID-19 cure lawsuit states.

The federal complaint backs up its allegations with statements by Pedersen in which he says that “[w]e are not a cure for the coronavirus—there is none,” and acknowledged that he was not knowledgeable about whether or not his companies’ silver products actually “kill” the coronavirus.

According to the COVID-19 cure lawsuit, consumers are deceived by these representations which take advantage of their real fears in the face of the coronavirus. Between statements about the products’ efficacies and representations that the retailer is “100% Legal,” consumers are allegedly led to believe that they are purchasing a genuine, effective product from a reputable seller. This could not be further from the truth, according to the COVID-19 cure lawsuit.

“All of the Defendants either know or consciously avoid knowing that their promotional statements give consumers the false and fraudulent impression that My Doctor Suggests LLC silver products can be used to prevent or treat COVID-19,” the federal COVID-19 cure lawsuit argues.

Adding insult to injury, the silver products are allegedly sold for exorbitant prices. For example, one gallon of Silver Solution, the company’s “flagship product” which includes water, baking soda and extract from silver wire, reportedly sells for up to $299.95. These high prices allegedly cause financial harm to consumers.

In addition to causing financial injury, the federal COVID-19 cure lawsuit claims that the defendants “are creating a false sense of security that may cause consumers to avoid conventional medical treatment and to ignore travel restrictions and social-distancing that slow the spread of COVID-19.”

The government argues that the defendants are violating the law with their fake COVID-19 cure scheme.

The COVID-19 cure lawsuit seeks injunctive relief requiring the companies to stop marketing their products. Without this relief, the government claims that consumers will continue to be injured by the defendants’ conduct.

This is not the first time that the Justice Department has taken action against fake COVID-19 cures. In late March, the feds shut down a fake coronavirus cure website, which offered a COVID-19 vaccine kit if consumers paid $4.95 in shipping.

A Texas chiropractor also faces a lawsuit from the federal government alleging that the individual portrays himself as a licensed medical doctor and offers consumers a “Corona-19 Homeopathic Vaccine remedy.” The chiropractor’s Facebook page reportedly stated that “Coronavirus-19 can be treated effectively with safe, non-toxic, sublingual Homeopathic and other natural remedies.”

Silver products have routinely been seen at the center of these fake COVID-19 cure schemes. For example, televangelist Jim Bakker was hit with a lawsuit by the state of Missouri for allegedly selling a “Silver Solution” advertised as a cure for the virus.

Alex Jones, the head of the infamous InfoWars website, has also been called out by the New York Attorney General for similar silver product misrepresentations.

The U.S. Department of Justice is represented in-house by Speare I. Hodges and Sarah Williams as well as by U.S. Attorney John W. Huber and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel A. Ferre.

The COVID-19 Cure Lawsuit is United States of America v. My Doctor Suggests LLC d/b/a My Health Supplier, et al., Case No. 2:20-cv-00279-DBB, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah.

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