New York: Sanctions Imposed For Fraudulent Telemarketing Of Terrorism "CRISIS KITS"

The New York State Attorney has obtained an injunction against a company accused of the fraudulent marketing of so called "terrorism crisis kits." The court order was granted on the 3rd December "shutting down an Erie County firm that attempted to capitalise on public fear of terrorist attacks by frightening consumers into buying "crisis kits" that included potassium iodide pills."

"Joseph Bella, the owner of Radi-Aid, Inc. and the Laboratories of BioFend, consented to the court order after sending fraudulent telemarketing messages about possible future terrorism as part of a marketing pitch to sell potassium iodine pills. The court order bans Bella from operating a business related to the sale and distribution of any product or service that claims to protect consumers against terrorist threats and radiation emergencies. It bars Bella from doing business as the "Laboratories of BioFend" and requires the dissolution of Radi-Aid, Inc.,"says the State Attorney's Office.

On 18th October 2002, hundreds of consumers in Erie County, New York received pre-recorded calls saying that BioFend agents believed that terrorists plan to detonate "dirty bombs" in the Western New York area. The message allegedly led consumers to believe that BioFend had been given responsibility by a governmental agency to safeguard the community by distributing "crisis kits" to every household.

These "crisis kits" turned out to be an attempt by Bella, says the State Attorney's Offce, to sell potassium iodine pills -- an over-the-counter medication used as a prophylactic measure against radiation exposure in the event of a nuclear reactor leak or the explosion of a nuclear bomb.

In the UK, such conduct may fall under anti-terrorism laws which provide for severe penalties for those creating false alarms about possible terrorist action. It is thought that US anti-terrorism laws, which are almost entirely focussed on external threats, would not cover the alleged actions.

The court-approved settlement was signed by Justice John P. Lane of State Supreme Court in Erie County and requires Bella to pay $2,500 in civil penalties for violating state laws prohibiting deceptive business practices. This was not a criminal trial.

This is not the only sort of similar scheme cooked up by opportunists. Recently, a spam-scam was launched for a premium telephone service claiming to offer information on bio-terrorism threats.

Banks might like to consider whether they have received payments from telephone providers who may have hosted this service and accounted to the user for profit shares and whether the transactions are suspicious. The date in the e-mail may assist in tracking down payments.