LOS ANGELES – In a brazen scheme, one man’s quest for fortune turned into a costly nightmare for 11 victims who fell prey to his promises of a miracle Covid-19 cure and treatment.
Keith Lawrence Middlebrook, a 56-year-old part-time actor from Huntington Beach, California, has been found guilty by a jury of soliciting investors in companies that peddled what were essentially bogus products to treat the deadly virus.
Middlebrook’s web of deceit began in March 2020, when he started soliciting potential investors via text messages, videos, and social media posts, including YouTube and Instagram. He claimed to have developed a ‘patent-pending’ cure, which he dubbed ‘QC20,’ and a treatment, ‘QP20,’ that he promised would prevent coronavirus infection.
The defendant falsely claimed that former Los Angeles Lakers point guard Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson was a director and officer of his company, and that a party in Dubai had offered to purchase his companies for $10 billion. He also lied about securing funding from seven investors, each of whom had allegedly invested between $750,000 and $1 million.
Middlebrook’s scheme unraveled when the FBI arrested him after he delivered pills, which he claimed were the treatment, to an undercover agent posing as an investor. The defendant remains free on $150,000 bond.
United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer has scheduled a sentencing hearing for September 9, at which time Middlebrook will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each of the 11 wire fraud counts.
The FBI investigated this case, and Assistant United States Attorneys Kenneth R. Carbajal and Joseph S. Guzman are prosecuting the matter.
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Key Facts
- State: California
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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