British man charged with smuggling phony coronavirus cure

A British man accused of smuggling a phony coronavirus cure into United States was charged Wednesday with a federal crime, prosecutors said.

Frank Richard Ludlow, 59, of West Sussex was charged in Los Angeles federal court with introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce and could face up to three years in federal prison if convicted, according to U.S. attorney's office.

He was arrested last week on drug charges in United Kingdom and remains in custody re, authorities said. It wasn't immediately clear wher he h an attorney.

Prosecutors alleged that Ludlow, who isn't a doctor, h been selling people in California and Utah via mail a concoction called “Trinity Remedy" that he touted as a “miracle cure" for various ailments, according to a court affidavit.

“This cure' – later rebranded as ‘Trinity Mind, Body & Soul' – allegedly contained vitamin C, an enzyme mix, potassium thiocyanate, and hydrogen peroxide. Consumers were instructed to d 18 ounces of water, say a prayer, drink half of solution, take a probiotic along with bee pollen, and n ingest remainder of solution," U.S. attorney's office statement said.

Authorities say Ludlow sold between 300 and 400 of treatment kits but in February or March of this year, as coronavirus pandemic worsened, he began selling kits under a new name: “Trinity COVID-19 SARS Antipathogenic Treatment.”

treatments haven't been approved by U.S. Food and Drug ministration for any medical use.

“Every major health authority has warned that re is specific antiviral treatment for COVID-19 and vaccine to prevent coronavirus infection," according to U.S. attorney's office.

“Hucksters who hawk ‘treatments’ for this dely disease put consumers’ lives at risk by peddling unapproved drugs,” U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna said.