The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission filed a civil complaint against Wellness Warrior, a vitamin and supplement company promoted by former Trump advisor Steve Bannon, for making claims that its products could prevent or treat the coronavirus.

The suit is the first filed under the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act, a law passed to prevent companies from profiting by making false claims about the effectiveness about their products in treating or preventing the spread of the coronavirus.

On its website, which prominently feature the overweight, rosy-cheeked, red-eyed host, Bannon’s “War Room” regularly features Bannon pitching Wellness Warrior products, as does his podcast.  Bannon and other Wellness Warrior ads claim that their zinc and Vitamin D products cure and prevent coronavirus infection.  A former White House advisor to Donald Trump, Bannon, founder of Breitbart News and Cambridge Analytica, Bannon was indicted on money laundering and fraud, but was pardoned by Trump.

“The defendants’ claims that their products can stand in for approved COVID-19 vaccines are particularly troubling: we need to be doing everything we can to stop bogus health claims that endanger consumers,” said Acting Chairwoman Rebecca Kelly Slaughter of the FTC. “With this case, the Commission has quickly put to use its new authority to stop false marketing claims related to the pandemic.”