San Diego Company and Owner Plead Guilty to Importation of Fake COVID Killer

San Diego company EcoShield and its owner Samir Haj pleaded guilty in federal court to illicitly importing, selling and mailing a pesticide marketed as a killer of viruses such as COVID-19. According to a May 25 press release from the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California, Haj imported the pesticide packaged as small badges from Japan, labeled it as an air purifier and lied on declaration forms, leading to a customs duty underpayment of $33,919. Further, the product, called EcoAirDoctor, contained the ingredient sodium chlorite, which is illegal to mail because it is flammable. Haj illegally shipped the pesticide via U.S. mail. In the plea agreements, EcoShield and Haj agreed to forfeit $427,689 from the sale of the product and pay restitution of $86,754 for the unpaid duty costs and costs of disposing of the product. The defendants also paid a $42,000 fine.