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Written by Justice Department Justice Department
Published: 06 June 2020 06 June 2020

El Paso, Texas - Tuesday, federal authorities served a temporary restraining order upon Fort Davis, Texas, resident Marc “White Eagle” Travalino in an effort to combat alleged fraud related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.  The restraining order was issued on Monday, June 1, 2020, by United States District Judge David Counts of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas and was unsealed Tuesday.

The government filed the civil action in order to stop Travalino from committing mail and wire fraud by peddling fraudulent remedies for a host of diseases and medical conditions, including COVID-19, through his business and his website, “whiteeaglenativeherbs.net.”  According to court records, Travalino sells product that he claims “are proven to work and destroy” coronavirus. In fact, there are no drugs or other therapeutics that have been demonstrated to cure or prevent COVID-19.

“When sellers falsely promise cures for serious diseases, they put the public health at risk,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “The Department of Justice is committed to preventing fraudsters from exploiting this pandemic.”

After guaranteeing an undercover special agent that his hospitalized grandmother would not die from COVID-19 if given the medicine, Travalino allegedly sold the agent a treatment for COVID-19 on May 5, 2020.  On May 14, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent Travalino a warning letter requiring him to cease and desist sales of unapproved and unproven products related to COVID-19 cures and treatments.  But almost a week after he was warned to stop, Travalino again sold his fraudulent COVID-19 treatments to another undercover agent. 

Today’s action will shutter Travalino’s business and website immediately while this investigation continues.  In so doing, the government is employing a federal statute that permits federal courts to issue injunctions to prevent harm to potential victims of fraudulent schemes.

The Department of Justice recommends that Americans to take the following precautionary measures to protect themselves from known and emerging scams related to COVID-19:

For the most up-to-date information on COVID-19, consumers may visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and WHO websites.  The public is urged to report suspected fraud schemes related to COVID-19 (the Coronavirus) to the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) hotline by phone at (1-866-720-5721) or via an online reporting form available at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/webform/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.      

The enforcement action taken today is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Cannizzaro, Eddie Castillo and Michael C. Galdo of the Western District of Texas, and Senior Litigation Counsel Ross S. Goldstein of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch.  The FBI’s El Paso Field Office and the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations are conducting the investigation.

The claims made in the complaint are allegations that, if the case were to proceed to trial, the government must prove to receive a permanent injunction against the defendant.