The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) ordered an ineffective product marketed as hand sanitizer from Federal Resources Supply Co. (FRSC), according to ABC’s WCVB.
Hand Sanitizer by yurakrasil. Shutterstock. This is not the same product depicted in the story.
The products were ordered for its employees at worksites, Chloe Gotsis, the Senior Deputy Press Secretary at Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, told The Daily Caller. MBTA received two of its large purchase orders and a portion of the third before it had paid for any of the product, Gotsis said.
The MBTA responded to a Federal Resources marketing email promoting “Theraworx Product,” a substance marketed as a sanitizer, according to the local outlet.
Federal Resources told MBTA its “COVID-19 product” sanitizes at a “30-second flash and provides a six-hour prolonged effect,” WCVB reported. Federal Resources told MBTA “if you touch something it will fight it off,” Attorney General Maura Healey’s offices said, according to the outlet.
The attorney general said Federal Resources violated the Massachusetts False Claims Act and Consumer Protection Act due to the fact that Theraworx Protect does not have alcohol to fight off COVID-19, the outlet reported.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requires a hand sanitizer to have at least 60 percent alcohol when used as a substitute for soap and water, according to the CDC website. (RELATED: CDC Recommends Virtual Gatherings, Bringing Your Own Food For Thanksgiving)
“We took action against this company because their attempt to exploit people during the COVID-19 pandemic for their own profit was not only acceptable, it was illegal,” Healey said, WCVB reported.
FRSC will pay $400,000 to Massachusetts and will issue a credit of over $150,000 to the MBTA for the amount of product it used, the attorney general’s office stated in a press release.