St. Louis Chiropractor Fined $80K for Spreading COVID Misinformation

The Federal Trade Commission accused Eric Nepute of making more than 10 million misleading claims about COVID-19

Aug 3, 2023 at 8:06 am

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Eric Nepute live streamed medical advice on Facebook before he got his radio show. He also has YouTube videos about wellness.

A St. Louis–area chiropractor accused of spreading misinformation about COVID-19 to sell his vitamins and supplements will have to come up with new marketing tactics.

A federal judge on Wednesday permanently restrained Eric Nepute from implying that his products in any way prevent, treat or reduce the severity of COVID-19. He'll also have to pay an $80,000 fine.

The Federal Trade Commission claimed in an April 2021 complaint that Nepute made more than 10 million misleading claims about COVID-19, even saying his vitamin D and zinc products are more effective at treating COVID-19 than vaccines. The crackdown on Nepute's alleged antics were the subject of a Riverfront Times cover story in February.

Nepute, also know as "the Roc Doc," aired his dubious medical advice on Facebook and his morning show on Real Talk 93.3 FM. He was the first person to be sued by the Federal Trade Commission under the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act, a 2021 law that prohibits deceptive acts related to treatment, mitigation, or cures of COVID-19.

In addition to his radio show, Nepute operates wellness centers in Creve Coeur and south county, in addition to Wellness Warrior, a company that sells vitamins and supplements.

Nepute at one point agreed to stop peddling his products as COVID-19 cures, but he was later accused of continuing to do so anyway. ("Federal government asked me not to do this anymore and so, here's want I'm going to say to them," he once said after an on-air discussion about vitamin D. "Uh, go to freevitamindeals.com. That's freevitamindeals.com.")

Now Nepute will be liable for liquidated damages each time he's found spreading false COVID-19 information in any publicly accessible media, meaning, for example, he'd be liable to pay $500 the first time he violates the judge's order, and $1,000 the next.

Judge Smacks Down St. Louis Radio Host Accused of Covid Misinformation: Eric Nepute can’t testify as an expert at his own trial because he’s not an expert, Judge Ronnie White says

Nepute has claimed in the past that the government set out to bankrupt him for telling people vitamins will keep them healthy. But whatever paranoia he felt — justified or not, since it's clear government officials were listening in — it didn't stop him calling out his enemies on air.

"Good morning, FTC; good morning, DOJ, " Nepute once said during a broadcast. "Hope you guys are having a blessed day. That's right folks, they literally listen to every word we say because we are in a police state. Our constitution is literally being trampled upon, ripped up and quite honestly urinated on by these crazy left-leaning — I don't even know what to call them — lunatics. They're just lunatics."