Lawsuit Over Fake Hand Sanitizer Sold To Massachusetts Schools

More COVID CRAZINESS happening right here in the Bay State! Attorney General Maura Healey has brought suit against an Illinois-based company for falsely marketing and selling a fake hand sanitizer product to school districts across the state.

Mass.gov reports in a complaint filed Monday in Suffolk Superior Court, prosecutors alleged that School Health Corporation, the makers of "Therawork Protect", claimed that the product was an effective alternative to prevent the spread of COVID-19 when, in fact, it did not contain any of the key ingredients in hand sanitizer.

Attorney General Healey's complaint alleges that the company violated the Massachusetts False Claims Act by misleading several school districts across the state into purchasing more than $100,000 of the "Theraworx" product between March 2020 and July 2020.

AG Healey had this to say in a media statement issued on Tuesday:

This company exploited fears around a growing public health crisis in order to profit by selling a bogus hand sanitizer to schools looking to stop the spread. We are suing to hold this company accountable for these illegal actions that put the health of our children, teachers, and staff at risk.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, hand sanitizer that utilizes any active ingredients other than alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, or benzalkonium chloride are not legally marketed as hand sanitizers and consumers should not use them.

The AG's complaint also states that "Theraworx Protect" does not contain any of these key ingredients for hand sanitizer and the product’s packaging does not include a drug facts label, as is required for hand sanitizers.

The AG’s complaint is seeking triple damages, civil penalties, attorneys’ fees and costs of its investigation and with those proceeds, the AG’s Office plans to reimburse affected cities and towns.

For more on the story, please visit Mass.gov's website here.