A Huntington Beach man was sentenced Jan. 6 to 98 months in federal prison for duping investors with false claims about a COVID-19 cure and treatment at the onset of the pandemic.
Keith Lawrence Middlebrook, 57, who’s also a part-time actor, received the sentence from United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer, who also imposed a $25,000 fine. He was ordered to begin serving his prison term immediately.
“Middlebrook fraudulently solicited investments in various companies with a series of false promises,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement. “He induced victims to invest their money by promising them enormous returns.”
In May, a jury convicted Middlebrook of 11 counts of wire fraud following a three-day trial.
Prosecutors said Middlebrook solicited investors in California, Nevada, New York, Texas, and Colorado starting in March 2020 through text messages, videos, and social media posts. He marketed a purported COVID-19 cure, “QC20,” and a prevention treatment, “QP20,” falsely claiming they were “patent-pending” and personally developed, prosecutors said.
Middlebrook promised “enormous returns” on investments, calling them risk-free and 100 percent guaranteed, according to prosecutors.
He also falsely claimed former Los Angeles Lakers star Earvin “Magic” Johnson was a director in his company. Judge Fischer said that Middlebrook lied under oath about his supposed connection to Johnson, adding to the severity of his sentence.
Additionally, Middlebrook invented claims to attract investors, including a fictitious $10 billion purchase offer from a Dubai entity and supposed contributions of $750,000 to $1 million each from seven investors.
Middlebrook was arrested in March 2020 after delivering pills—which he claimed could prevent coronavirus infection—to an undercover FBI agent posing as an investor.
Middlebrook appeared in several films, including notable titles like “Iron Man 2” and “Moneyball.”
From The Epoch Times