An Orange County man and part-time actor was sentenced to more than eight years in federal prison for soliciting investments in bogus COVID-19 cure and treatment companies, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California announced today.
Keith Lawrence Middlebrook, 57, of Huntington Beach, was also fined $25,000 and ordered to federal custody to begin serving his prison sentence immediately, according to the department.
In March 2020, Middlebrook solicited potential investors in California, Nevada, New York, Texas, and Colorado through text messages, videos, and posts on YouTube and Instagram about a purported COVID-19 cure, the department said.
Middlebrook referred to this so-called cure as “QC20” and marketed a purported COVID treatment he called “QP20,” according to the office.
The department reported that Middlebrook claimed to have personally developed a “patent-pending” cure and a treatment to prevent coronavirus infection.
Middlebrook fraudulently solicited investments in various companies by making false promises, the office stated.