Case: 4:21-cv-00437-RLW Doc. #: 1 Filed: 04/15/21 Page: 1 of 27 PageID #: 1
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`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
`EASTERN DIVISION
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`Case No.: ____________
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`COMPLAINT FOR CIVIL
`PENALTIES, PERMANENT
`INJUNCTION, AND OTHER
`RELIEF
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`Plaintiff,
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`v.
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`UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
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`
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`
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`ERIC ANTHONY NEPUTE,
`individually, and as
`Owner of Quickwork LLC; and
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`QUICKWORK LLC,
`a limited liability company,
`also d/b/a WELLNESS WARRIOR,
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`
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`Defendants.
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`Plaintiff, the United States of America, acting upon notification and authorization to the
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`Attorney General by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), pursuant to Section 16(a)(1) of the
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`Federal Trade Commission Act (“FTC Act”), 15 U.S.C. § 56(a)(1), for its Complaint alleges:
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`NATURE OF THE CASE
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`1.
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`Defendants sell nutritional supplements containing Vitamin D and zinc, among
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`other products. Recently, Defendants have been advertising their Vitamin D and zinc products—
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`including “Wellness Warrior Vita D”, “Wellness Warrior Zinc”, and others—on social media
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`and the internet as drugs capable of treating, or preventing COVID-19. Defendants even claim
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`that their products are more effective than the available COVID-19 vaccines. Defendants lack
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`valid factual or scientific bases for these claims, which are frequently accompanied by equally
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`unsupported assertions regarding the applicable science. In short, Defendants are selling their
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`products by disseminating misinformation, exploiting fears in the midst of a pandemic, and
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`posing a significant risk to public health and safety.
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`2.
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`Although the government has notified Defendants that their deceptive advertising
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`and misrepresentations violate the Federal Trade Commission Act (“FTC Act”), as well as the
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`COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act that was enacted in December 2020, Defendants have
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`refused to stop. The United States therefore files this suit to seek preliminary and permanent
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`injunctive relief, civil penalties, and other remedies in order to prevent the harms caused by
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`Defendants’ ongoing misrepresentations.
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`JURISDICTION AND VENUE
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`3.
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`This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
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`§ 1331 because it arises under the law of the United States. It also has subject matter jurisdiction
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`over this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1337(a) because it arises under an Act of Congress
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`regulating interstate commerce or protecting trade and commerce against restraints and
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`monopolies, and under 28 U.S.C. § 1345 because the United States is the Plaintiff.
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`4.
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`At all times relevant to this Complaint, Defendants have maintained a substantial
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`course of trade in or affecting interstate commerce, as “commerce” is defined in Section 4 of the
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`FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 44.
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`5.
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`The Court has personal jurisdiction over the defendants because all Defendants
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`reside in this district and because the alleged acts giving rise to the claims occurred in this
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`District.
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`6.
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`Venue is proper in this District under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b)(1), (b)(2), and
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`(c)(1), and 15 U.S.C. § 53(b) because all Defendants reside in this District and because a
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`substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claims occurred in this District.
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`Pursuant to Local Rule 2.07, venue is proper in the Eastern Division because all defendants
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`reside in this Division and because the claim for relief arose in the Eastern Division.
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`PARTIES
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`Plaintiff is the United States of America.
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`Defendant Eric Anthony Nepute (“Nepute”) is a chiropractor and the owner of
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`7.
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`8.
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`Defendant Quickwork LLC (“Quickwork”). He resides in this District and, in connection with
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`the matters alleged herein, transacts or has transacted business in this District and throughout the
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`United States. Nepute is also the owner of Nepute Wellness Center, which is located in St. Louis,
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`Missouri. Until February 2021, Nepute maintained a Facebook page,
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`www.facebook.com/drericnepute, which designated him as a “public figure” and included a
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`“verified badge’ indicating that Facebook has confirmed that the page belongs to him. From at
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`least 2015 until February 2021, he frequently posted videos on his Facebook page that featured
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`him talking about various health and wellness topics.
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`9.
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`Quickwork, formed by Nepute in January 2020, is a Missouri limited liability
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`company with its principal office or place of business at 1 First Missouri Center, Suite 214, St.
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`Louis, Missouri 63141. In June 2020, Quickwork began doing business under the trade name
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`“Wellness Warrior.” Wellness Warrior maintains a Facebook page,
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`www.facebook.com/Wellnesswarrior.club, and several additional websites through which
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`interested customers can obtain Wellness Warrior products, including but not limited to
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`www.wellnesswarrior.deals, www.myfreezinc.com, www.freevitamindeal.com,
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`www.freevitamindeals.com, www.commonsensehealth.live, www.wellnesswarrior.org,
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`thewellnesswarrior.org, wellnesswarriorvitamins.com, nepute.chiroconnect.com,
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`teamwarrior.com, and neputewellnesscenter.com. Defendants may also maintain additional
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`websites and may have previously maintained other websites that are now defunct.
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`10.
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`Both Nepute and Quickwork have transacted business in this District and
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`throughout the United States. Since its formation, Quickwork has advertised, marketed,
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`distributed, or sold products containing Vitamin D and zinc, including Wellness Warrior Vita D,
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`Wellness Warrior Zinc, Wellness Warrior Immune Pack, Wellness Warrior Boost Pack, and
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`Wellness Warrior Kids’ Multivitamin (together, the “Wellness Warrior Products”) to consumers
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`throughout the United States. Nepute has formulated, directed, controlled, had the authority to
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`control, or participated in the acts and practices set forth in this complaint, including the
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`advertising, marketing, distribution, and sale of Wellness Warrior Products.
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`THE FTC ACT
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`11.
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`Section 5(a) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(a), prohibits “unfair or deceptive acts
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`or practices in or affecting commerce.”
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`12. Misrepresentations or deceptive omissions of material fact constitute deceptive
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`acts or practices prohibited by Section 5(a) of the FTC Act.
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`13.
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`Section 12 of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 52, prohibits the dissemination of any
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`false advertisement in or affecting commerce for the purpose of inducing, or which is likely to
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`induce, the purchase of food, drugs, devices, services, or cosmetics. For the purposes of Section
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`12 of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 52, each Wellness Warrior Product is a “drug” as defined in
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`Section (c) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 55(c).
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`THE COVID-19 CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT
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`14.
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`On January 31, 2020, the Secretary of Health and Human Services declared that
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`the 2019 novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) had caused a public health emergency. As of the date
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`of the filing of this complaint, the public health emergency remains in effect.
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`15.
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`On December 27, 2020, the President signed the COVID-19 Consumer Protection
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`Act. The COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act makes it unlawful, for the duration of the
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`ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency, for any person, partnership, or
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`corporation to engage in a deceptive act or practice in or affecting commerce in violation of
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`Section 5(a) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(a), that is associated with the treatment, cure,
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`prevention, mitigation, or diagnosis of COVID-19. COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act of the
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`2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act (“COVID-19 Act”), Pub. L. No. 116-260, Title XIV,
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`§ 1401(b)(1).
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`16.
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`A violation of Section (b)(1) of the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act is
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`treated as a violation of a rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice proscribed under
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`section 18(a)(1)(B) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 57a(a)(1)(B). COVID-19 Act, § 1401(c)(1).
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`17.
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`A violation of Section (b)(1) of the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act made
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`with the knowledge required by Section 5(m)(1)(A) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(m)(1)(A), is
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`subject to monetary civil penalties of not more than $43,792 for each violation of the COVID-19
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`Consumer Protection Act after January 13, 2021, including penalties whose associated violation
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`predated January 13, 2021. See 15 U.S.C. § 45(m)(1)(A), as modified by Section 4 of the Federal
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`Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, 28 U.S.C. § 2461, the Federal Civil Penalties
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`Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, Public Law 114-74, sec. 701, 129 Stat. 599
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`(2015); see also 16 C.F.R. § 1.98(d).
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`DEFENDANTS’ UNLAWFUL CONDUCT
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`I. Defendants Use Misrepresentations to Advertise Their Vitamin D and Zinc Products
`In early April 2020, Defendants began advertising and selling Wellness Warrior
`18.
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`Products to the public.
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`19.
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`No later than May 2020, Defendants began to advertise Wellness Warrior
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`Products as protecting against, preventing, or treating COVID-19. Such advertising has consisted
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`mainly of lengthy videos featuring monologues by Nepute and posted on Nepute’s public figure
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`Facebook page or the Wellness Warrior Facebook page, both of which were available to the
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`public. Both of the Facebook pages and videos included hyperlinks that consumers could click
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`on to visit one of Defendants’ many websites and buy Wellness Warrior Products. Nepute’s
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`Facebook page also featured an “offers” section promising free bottles of Vitamin D and zinc.
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`20.
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`Defendants prepared dozens of videos that had an outsized impact, because they
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`amplified their reach by posting and reposting them hundreds of times on Nepute’s and the
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`Wellness Warrior Facebook pages, as well as on the multiple Wellness Warrior websites. For
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`example, an August 5, 2020 video, originally posted with the title “Eric Nepute’s Video”, was
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`reposted on his various websites no fewer than 59 and possibly as many as 176 times.
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`Defendants often posted videos multiple times a day, and some of the posts played the same
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`video two to six consecutive times. Collectively, Defendants’ marketing videos have been
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`viewed millions of times.
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`21.
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`In February 2021, Facebook removed Nepute’s public figure Facebook page from
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`its website. In response, on February 19, 2021, Nepute created a new Facebook page, Common
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`Sense Health Nation, https://www.facebook.com/commonsensehealthnation/. The Common
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`Sense Health Nation page is also publicly available and includes links to Wellness Warrior
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`websites where consumers can buy Wellness Warrior Products. Nepute has reposted to the
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`Common Sense Health Nation Facebook page videos that previously appeared on his public
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`figure Facebook page. He has also continued to post lengthy videos advertising his products.
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`22.
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`In March 2021, Defendants created a new website, Common Sense Health Live,
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`https://www.commonsensehealth.live/. The Common Sense Health Live website is publicly
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`available to anyone who creates an account, which requires only a name and an email address. It
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`includes links to Wellness Warrior websites where consumers can buy Wellness Warrior
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`Products. Nepute has described the Common Sense Health Live website as “like Facebook,
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`except for the censorship.” The Common Sense Health Facebook page includes a link to the
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`Common Sense Health Live website.
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`23.
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`Defendants have also marketed Vitamin D and zinc through posts on Nepute’s
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`Facebook page, the Wellness Warrior Facebook page, the Common Sense Health Nation
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`Facebook page, the Common Sense Health Live website, and email advertisements sent to
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`consumers who have purchased Wellness Warrior-branded products.
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`24.
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`Starting no later than June 2020, Defendants began advertising a protocol that
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`customers should follow in order to protect against, prevent, or treat COVID-19. This protocol,
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`which has varied over time, advises consumers to take, on a daily basis, substantial quantities of
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`emulsified Vitamin D3 (“Vitamin D”) and zinc, which are found in the Wellness Warrior
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`Products.
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`A.
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`Vitamin D: The Truth v. Defendants’ Misrepresentations
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`25. Wellness Warrior Vita D is an ingestible product sold in softgel capsule form.
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`Each softgel of Wellness Warrior Vita D contains 5,000 IU Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) and
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`unspecified amounts of “[o]rganic, extra virgin olive oil and softgel (bovine gelatin, vegetable
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`glycerin, and purified water).” The Wellness Warrior Vita D product label directs users to “Take
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`one softgel daily, or as directed by your healthcare practitioner.” Wellness Warrior Kids’
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`Multivitamin also contains Vitamin D.
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`No Studies Prove That Vitamin D Prevents or Treats COVID-19
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`26.
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`There is no competent and reliable scientific evidence that Vitamin D protects
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`against, treats, or prevents COVID-19.
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`27.
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`There are no published studies that prove that Vitamin D protects against, treats,
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`or prevents COVID-19. The few completed randomized clinical trials investigating the efficacy
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`of Vitamin D in treating or preventing COVID-19 either (i) showed no benefits to patients taking
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`Vitamin D; or (ii) had flawed study designs and failed to conform to FDA guidelines for
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`scientific studies investigating the efficacy of treatments for COVID-19.
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`28.
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`Defendants have made numerous claims that explicitly or implicitly state that
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`daily doses of Vitamin D are effective in treating or preventing COVID-19. For example:
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`a. Vitamin D protects people from COVID-19: “So what can we do? You got to
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`protect yourself and protect the others [from COVID-19]. . . . How do we do
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`that? Number one, we got to take the right vitamins . . . I talked about Vitamin D.
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`It’s so important to do that. Go on that link below, click it. . . . But get some D3
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`– emulsified D3.” Ex. A1 at 21:11-23:4.
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`b. Vitamin D prevents COVID-19: “I’m going to tell you something that you need
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`to be doing at home from a preventative standpoint . . . . [It’s] very, very, very
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`important [to take] [Vitamin] D as in dog, D3.” Ex. B at 6:12-9:9.
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` 1
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` Exhibits are identified in the Appendix to this Complaint.
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`c. “Vitamin D3 will prevent [COVID-19] from infecting your body.” Ex. C at
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`11:14-18.
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`d. A daily dose of Vitamin D can effectively serve as a “treatment for COVID-19”
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`by “boosting” the immune system. Ex. D at 11:2-11:17.
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`e. A “high-dose” of Vitamin D would help to turn COVID-19 into a “mild illness.”
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`Ex. E at 14:14-15:1.
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`f. “Vitamin D3 is the only chemical that’s out there and that’s shown to reduce
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`the spread . . . to minimize the chances of getting infected.” Ex. F at 16:1-4.
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`g. “Vitamin D blocks the virus. That’s a fact. Nobody can argue that.” Ex. F at
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`16:21-22.
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`29.
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`Defendants lacked any reasonable bases for the foregoing statements, as well as
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`many other similar statements they have made.
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`30.
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`Defendants have also made deceptive statements regarding the results of certain
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`scientific studies to claim that Vitamin D was an effective preventative or treatment for COVID-
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`19.
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`31.
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`Again, there are no randomized clinical trials that establish increased Vitamin D
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`supplementation cause positive health outcomes in connection with COVID-19. Although there
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`are observational studies that have explored correlations between low Vitamin D levels and an
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`elevated risk of infection or severe illness from the coronavirus, such observational studies are
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`not designed, and cannot be used, to prove causation, i.e., to establish that Vitamin D
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`supplementation cause positive health outcomes in connection with COVID-19.
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`32.
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`Defendants ignore these studies’ conclusions and limitations and instead rely on
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`them for the basis for specific, deceptive claims about the quantitative efficacy of Vitamin D in
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`treating and/or preventing COVID-19. For example, Nepute made the following statements:
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`a. “Journal of Nature Magazine 2020, in April and May, showed that if you have the
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`adequate amounts of Vitamin D3 in your system, then you have a 77 percent less
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`chance of getting infected in the first place. Vitamin D3 equals 77 percent less
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`chance of getting infected in the first place.” Ex. G at 13:23-14:5.
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`b. “Boston University’s Dr. Michael Holick found . . . that people who have
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`enough [V]itamin D are 54 percent less likely to catch coronavirus in the first
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`place.” Ex. H.
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`c. According to the work performed by Dr. Holick, “COVID-19 Patients who get
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`enough [V]itamin D are 52% less likely to die” and “are at a 52 percent lower risk
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`of dying of COVID-19 than people who are deficient.” Ex. H.
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`d. “[Vitamin] D3 has shown, in many studies, to cut the infection rate by sometimes
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`up to 52 percent.” Ex. E at 10:15-10:17.
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`33.
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`In fact, the cited studies do not support Defendants’ claims. Both of Dr. Holick’s
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`studies explored correlations between low Vitamin D levels and adverse COVID-19 outcomes.
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`One study concluded only that its findings “provide further rationale to explore” the putative
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`therapeutic benefit of Vitamin D and acknowledged that the implications could be significant
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`only “[i]f controlled trials find this relationship to be causative”—i.e., only if controlled trials
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`found that low Vitamin D levels caused adverse COVID-19 outcomes. Dr. Holick’s other study
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`observed that, because of the study design, the authors could not “explain the cause and effect
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`relationship of Vitamin D sufficiency and the reduced risk of severity from a COVID-19
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`infection,” concluding that “large-scale studies and randomized clinical trials (RCTs)” were
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`necessary to evaluate any interaction between them.
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`34.
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`To support the claim that people with adequate Vitamin D have a 77 percent less
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`chance of getting infected in the first place, Defendants may be relying on a September 2020
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`article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). To the extent that
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`Defendants are relying on this study, they are mischaracterizing its results. This study expressly
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`stated that: “Since [V]itamin D deficiency may be increased by many factors that could be
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`associated with COVID-19 risk, including age, obesity, diabetes, and chronic illness more
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`generally, observed associations of [V]itamin D with outcomes in almost any observational study
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`may fail to accurately reflect any potential causal effects of [V]itamin D on outcomes.”
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`Defendants Have No Bases for Their Claim That Vitamin D Prevents or Treats
`COVID-19 Through Particular Biological Mechanisms
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`35.
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`In addition to their claims regarding Vitamin D’s efficacy, Defendants have,
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`
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`without any reasonable bases, made misrepresentations about the specific biological mechanisms
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`through which Vitamin D supposedly helps prevent or treat COVID-19.
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`36.
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`SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, infiltrates the cells by using a
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`“spike protein” on the surface of its coat to bind to the “ACE2 receptor”, a protein that naturally
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`appears on the walls of human cells. This binding allows the virus’s genetic material (its RNA)
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`to infiltrate the cell, hijack its machinery, and replicate itself. If the virus cannot bind to the
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`ACE2 receptor, however, it cannot invade the cell, cannot replicate, and cannot cause harm. In
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`fact, the recently approved vaccines work by teaching the body’s immune system to recognize
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`the spike protein as a foreign invader and act to neutralize it.
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`37.
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`There are no published scientific studies establishing that Vitamin D interferes
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`with the SARS-CoV-2 virus’s ability to bind with the ACE2 receptor when Vitamin D is
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`introduced into the human body.
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`38.
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`Nonetheless, without any competent and reliable scientific evidence, Defendants
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`have claimed, for example, that Vitamin D “blocks the spike protein from the ACE-2 receptor,”
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`thereby preventing people from “get[ting] infected in the first place.” Ex. G at 24:20-22.
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`Defendants have further claimed that, through this mechanism, Vitamin D purportedly “stops the
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`virus from attaching” to human cells. Ex. G at 17:23-18:2.
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`39.
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`Defendants have also asserted that Vitamin D prevents “cytokine storms,” which
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`may be provoked in certain patients by the virus that causes COVID-19. A cytokine storm is an
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`overactive, harm-causing response by the human immune system to the infection. Specifically,
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`when the body is infected, it releases cytokines to signal the immune system to begin its defense
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`work. Excessive quantities of cytokines, however, can cause the immune system to attack
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`healthy tissue, resulting in severe injury or death.
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`40.
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`There are no published scientific studies demonstrating that Vitamin D can
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`prevent a cytokine storm in COVID-19 patients.
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`41.
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`Again, without any competent and reliable scientific evidence, Defendants have
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`claimed that Vitamin D can prevent cytokine storms from occurring, thereby reducing the
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`severity of a COVID-19 infection: “If you have enough [V]itamin D3 in your system, you don’t
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`have a cytokine storm.” Ex. G at 35:15-25.
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` Defendants Deceptively Imply That Scientific Research Supports Their Claims
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`42.
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`To convey the impression that there is scientific evidence to support their
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`deceptive claims, Defendants prepared and publicly posted on one of the Wellness Warrior
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`Product websites a “Research Page” that contained hyperlinks to some of their videos, as well as
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`various articles discussing Vitamin D and COVID-19. This Research Page linked to
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`retrospective observational studies, news articles, blog posts, and PowerPoint presentations, none
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`of which constituted competent or reliable scientific evidence that Vitamin D treats or prevents
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`COVID-19.
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`43.
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`Upon information and belief, Defendants actually knew, or had knowledge fairly
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`implied on the basis of objective circumstances, that the materials cited on the Research Page did
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`not demonstrate that Vitamin D protects against, treats, or prevents COVID-19.
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`B.
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`Zinc: The Truth v. Defendants’ Misrepresentations
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`44. Wellness Warrior Zinc is an ingestible product sold in tablet form. Each tablet
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`contains 25 milligrams of zinc (as zinc gluconate) and unspecified amounts of microcrystalline
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`cellulose, dicalcium phosphate, stearic acid, colloidal silicon dioxide, magnesium stearate, and
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`croscarmellose sodium. The Wellness Warrior Zinc product label directs users to “Take one
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`tablet daily, or as directed by your healthcare practitioner.” Wellness Warrior Kids’
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`Multivitamin, Wellness Warrior Boost Pack, and Wellness Warrior Immune Pack also contain
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`zinc.
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`No Studies Prove That Zinc Prevents or Treats COVID-19
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`45.
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`There is no competent and reliable scientific evidence that zinc protects against,
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`treats, or prevents COVID-19. There are no published studies that prove that zinc protects
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`against, treats, or prevents COVID-19. In fact, the sole completed randomized clinical trial
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`investigating the efficacy of zinc as a preventative or treatment for COVID-19 found no
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`therapeutic benefit.
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`46.
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`Notwithstanding this absence of supporting scientific evidence, Defendants have
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`disseminated advertisements representing that zinc treats or prevents COVID-19. Examples of
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`Defendants’ statements include:
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`a. Zinc is an effective treatment for COVID-19 because it “doesn’t allow the virus to
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`continue to proliferate” inside the body and that it “stops the cells from
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`regenerating viruses,” which in turns “stops viral proliferation.” Ex. F at 17:4-5;
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`Ex. D at 11:24-12:19; Ex. E at 9:2-9:12.
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`b. Zinc should be taken as a prophylactic: “We should be preventatively loading up
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`on zinc . . . .” Ex. B at 6:24-6:25, 7:21-8:9.
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`c. “Tak[ing] zinc every day” serves as a treatment for COVID-19 by “boosting the
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`immune system.” Ex. D at 11:2-11:13. “Washington University . . . say[s]
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`boosting the immune system is the answer. You’re damn right it is . . . I’m going
`
`to tell you how and I’m going to give you a solution . . . buy a damn bottle of
`
`zinc.” Ex. D at 11:24-12:19.
`
`47.
`
`Although Defendants claim to have identified “over fifteen” studies relating to
`
`Zinc, they have not published a “research page” analogous to the page published relating to
`
`Vitamin D. The government has been able to find only two studies identified by Defendants as
`
`support for their claims. Neither study even relates to COVID-19, much less establishes that zinc
`
`treats or prevents COVID-19: one is an in vitro (petri dish) study that was not conducted on the
`
`virus that causes COVID-19, and the other is a discussion of observational studies done
`
`investigating the relationship between zinc and pneumonia, not COVID-19. Indeed, both studies
`
`were conducted years before the pandemic began.
`
`14
`
`

`

`Case: 4:21-cv-00437-RLW Doc. #: 1 Filed: 04/15/21 Page: 15 of 27 PageID #: 15
`
`48.
`
`Nonetheless, Defendants deceptively claim that the in vitro study shows precisely
`
`how zinc purportedly prevents COVID-19: An “[i]ncrease in intercellular zinc concentrations . . .
`
`can effectively impair the replication of RNA viruses including . . . SARS coronavirus. . . . Well,
`
`this is SARS CoV-2 is what this is.” Ex. I at 14:14-14:22.
`
`C.
`
`49.
`
`The Vaccines: The Truth v. Defendants’ Misrepresentations
`
`To induce customers to purchase their Vitamin D and zinc products, Defendants
`
`have also disseminated advertisements that claim, without any reasonable basis, that Wellness
`
`Warrior Products were more effective at preventing or treating COVID-19 than the available
`
`vaccines or other available treatments.
`
`50.
`
`It is well known that several vaccines have been authorized for emergency use by
`
`the United States Food and Drug Administration because they have been proven effective to
`
`prevent infection by COVID-19 and to reduce the severity of such infections. These vaccines
`
`received emergency use authorization only after their sponsors conducted large, double-blind,
`
`randomized clinical trials that demonstrated their efficacy.
`
`51.
`
`Unlike the rigorous clinical trial process that led to these vaccines, no such studies
`
`have been performed for Vitamin D and zinc, either administered independently or administered
`
`together. There is no competent and reliable scientific evidence showing that Vitamin D or zinc,
`
`administered independently or in combination, is a better option for prevention of treatment of
`
`COVID-19 than the available vaccines.
`
`52.
`
`However, Defendants have explicitly and implicitly represented that Vitamin D
`
`and zinc provide equal or better protection against COVID-19 than do currently available
`
`vaccines.
`
`15
`
`

`

`Case: 4:21-cv-00437-RLW Doc. #: 1 Filed: 04/15/21 Page: 16 of 27 PageID #: 16
`
`53.
`
`For example, Defendants have claimed that “Vitamin D3 is the only chemical
`
`that’s out there and that’s shown to reduce the spread” of COVID-19. Ex. F at 16:1-4.
`
`54.
`
`According to Defendants, “[t]here hasn’t been one damn thing else that’s shown
`
`the benefits of . . . preventing COVID-19 except for [V]itamin D3.” Ex. C at 10:9-13.
`
`55.
`
`Defendants have also advertised, without a reasonable basis, that “vaccines do not
`
`stop the spread of the virus.” Ex. G at 13:13-15.
`
`56.
`
`Defendants also assert that: “it’s been proven by NIH, World Health
`
`Organization, CDC, the list goes on and on, that “vaccines do not stop the spread of the virus.”
`
`Ex. G at 13:13-15. According to Defendants, “the NIH, the World Health Organization, the CDC
`
`. . . [have] clearly said this vaccine is not going to stop the spread of infection. Ex. J at 12:1-18.
`
`However, the National Institutes of Health (“NIH”), the World Health Organization (“WHO”),
`
`the Federal Centers for Disease Control (“CDC”), and the Surgeon General have never stated,
`
`much less proven, that vaccines do not stop the spread of COVID-19.
`
`57.
`
`Defendants have further stated, without any reasonable basis, that Nepute’s
`
`protocol, including Vitamin D and zinc, “actually works better than . . . any vaccine,” and,
`
`therefore, customers did not “really need a vaccine.” Ex. F at 17:6-8.
`
`58.
`
`Defendants have provided no scientific proof or studies to support these claims,
`
`just as they have provided no scientific proof or studies to back up their advertising about the
`
`efficacy of Vitamin D and zinc for preventing and treating COVID-19.
`
`II. Defendants’ Deceptive Marketing Has Already Misled Reasonable Consumers
`Defendants Have Been Selling Their Vitamin D and Zinc Products for
`A.
`Months
`Each bottle of Wellness Warrior Vita D contains 30 softgels, which Defendants
`
`59.
`
`have sold for $24.95 per bottle plus $9.95 shipping and handling. Defendants also have offered
`
`16
`
`

`

`Case: 4:21-cv-00437-RLW Doc. #: 1 Filed: 04/15/21 Page: 17 of 27 PageID #: 17
`
`several Vitamin D subscription plans, in most instances including one free bottle of Vitamin D
`
`with subscription enrollment.
`
`60.
`
`Defendants first featured Vitamin D in an April 2020 video on the Nepute
`
`Facebook page and began promoting their free Vitamin D bottle offer in July 2020, again
`
`through the Nepute Facebook page videos.
`
`61.
`
`Each bottle of Wellness Warrior Zinc contains 60 tablets. Defendants have
`
`advertised an offer for a free bottle of zinc without a subscription and charge consumers $9.95
`
`for shipping and handling. They also have advertised various subscription plans for zinc, which
`
`do not include a free bottle of the product. Subscription plans start at $24 per month for one
`
`bottle of zinc.
`
`62.
`
`Defendants’ advertising has proven to be popular. Together, the Wellness Warrior
`
`and Common Sense Health Nation Facebook pages have over 100,000 followers.
`
`63.
`
`Upon information and belief, Defendants have earned a substantial amount of
`
`money from selling these and other Wellness Warrior Products.
`
`B.
`64.
`
`Consumers Believe Defendants’ Deceptive Advertising
`Dozens of posts on Defendants’ own Facebook pages show that consumers have
`
`been buying Defendants’ Vitamin D and zinc products with the belief that they prevent COVID-
`
`19 better than available vaccines. Nepute’s videos have generated millions of consumer views.
`
`Examples of recent customer comments on the Wellness Warrior Facebook page,
`
`http://www.facebook.com/Wellnesswarrior.club/, include:
`
`a. February 27, 2021 at 2:44 am, K.F.: “Been taking Wellness Warrior duo at least
`
`7 months. No sickness here and living life without fear. Thank you so much Dr.
`
`Eric. Keep getting the truth out.”
`
`17
`
`

`

`Case: 4:21-cv-00437-RLW Doc. #: 1 Filed: 04/15/21 Page: 18 of 27 PageID #: 18
`
`b. March 14, 2021 at 11:26 pm, L.S.: “I take 10,000 IU [of Vitamin D] each day . . .
`
`. I take 25 mg of zinc and upped that to 50 mg a day as my husband got covid and
`
`I got him to take it as well. But he didn’t take it before he got sick. I never got
`
`sick living in the same house and breathing the same air. . . . NO gene
`
`therapy/fake vaccine.”
`
`c. March 22, 2021 at 1:47 pm, C.J.V.: “Just Ordered mine today. Dr. Eric thank you
`
`so much. I have been following you for a while and really appreciate all you do to
`
`inform us all.”
`
`C.
`65.
`
`Defendants’ Deceptive Health Claims About Their Products are Material
`Defendants deceptively advertise their Vitamin D and zinc products as treating or
`
`preventing COVID-19, and as superior to the current vaccines.
`
`66.
`
`Such baseless claims of h