Kansas Reflector/Columbia School of Journalism: “In early October, Kris Kobach, Kansas’ former Secretary of State, and Daniel Drake, a Wichita-based venture capitalist-turned-CEO, made a sales pitch to Kansas legislators. The duo wheeled in what looked to lawmakers like a ‘refrigerator’ – a shiny metal box Drake called a ‘revolutionary’ device that would ‘kill COVID’ and bring ‘several hundred jobs back to Wichita.’ ‘This stuff is very cutting-edge,’ Kobach said. The local development of such exciting technology was why, he told lawmakers, he wanted Kansas to get the ‘first bite at the apple.’ During their pitch, Drake explained that his company, MoJack Distributors, had developed a line called ‘Scent Crusher’ that uses aerosolized ozone, a tri-oxygen molecule, to sanitize hunting and sports products, ‘only to realize that we weren’t here today to be able to get hunters or sportsmen to be better athletes or better hunters, but to kill COVID.’ He told lawmakers the sample product next to him was part of a new line called ‘Sarus Systems.'”

“The former, controversial secretary of state and his new business partner made sweeping claims before the Legislature about the efficacy of Sarus System’s products, but experts say the claims were misleading. After a two-month investigation, Columbia Journalism School was unable to verify the vast majority of their statements. There is no evidence Sarus Systems has made material steps toward rehoming hundreds of jobs to Kansas, and shipping records show products are currently being manufactured in China. There is also scant evidence their machines, or ozone in general, can safely eliminate SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. And while the pair have hyped the products’ popularity, claiming a three-month backlog and international interest, we were unable to verify any purchases – from the state of Kansas or otherwise.”