Man who allegedly sold fake COVID cure arrested after 3-year manhunt
After a three-year manhunt, a Utah man has been arrested on charges of allegedly selling a fake COVID-19 cure, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah announced Monday.
Gordon Hunter Pedersen, 63, of Cedar Hills -- 30 miles south of Salt Lake City -- allegedly appeared in multiple YouTube videos before COVID-19 vaccines were approved, selling "structural alkaline silver."
He allegedly claimed the product was a cure for the virus because it "resonates, or vibrates, at a frequency that destroys the membrane of the virus, making the virus incapable of attaching to any healthy cell, or to infect you in any way," the release states.
Court documents said Pedersen sold the products on MyDoctorSuggests.com as well as Amazon and Shopify. Prices ranged up to $299.95 for a gallon of the silver products.
Prosecutors allege he also claimed to have a Ph.D. in immunology and in naturopathic medicine and he was a board-certified "anti-aging medical doctor."
Between January 2020 and the end of April 2020, Pedersen's company saw a 400% jump in revenue, equating to about $2 million, according to court documents.
Search warrants were executed at Pedersen's home in late April 2020 and he was interviewed by federal agents, the documents show.
A federal grand jury indicted Pedersen on July 23, 2020, on charges of wire fraud, mail fraud and felony introduction of misbranded drugs into interstate commerce with intent to defraud and mislead.
After he failed to appear in federal court in relation to the indictment, a warrant was issued for his arrest on Aug. 25, 2020, officials say.
Pedersen evaded authorities for three years, but it came to an end after prosecutors said he was spotted on July 5 at his known address by a special agent. He was then spotted on surveillance video at a gas station paying for both fuel and a beverage in cash.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah declined to comment to ABC News, saying it does not comment on open cases.
Pedersen will appear at a detention hearing Tuesday afternoon at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.
Throughout the pandemic, a variety of cases have been prosecuted of people selling fake COVID-19 cures.
Last month, four members of a Florida family were convicted of selling bleach as a cure for several ailments, including COVID-19, through their online church.
