PHOENIX – Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich has issued a warning letter to the Phoenix-based Dream City Church regarding public representations it made regarding an air filtration system the church purchased from a Glendale-based company. The church hosted the “Students For Trump” rally in Tuesday.
The headline grabbing move by Brnovich came after the church had already taken down allegedly offending advertisements.
According to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office (AGO), Dream City stated its filtration system “kills 99 percent of COVID within 10 minutes” and that “when you come into [the church’s] auditorium, 99 percent of COVID is gone. So you can know when you come down here, you’ll be safe and protected.”
The AGO says that because Dream City rents its facility for public events not related to church functions, the church was placed on notice that misrepresentations and false promises related to the safety of church facilities may violate the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act.
The complaint centers around Clean Air EXP, of Glendale, which is accused of advertising their air purification systems by suggesting the systems neutralize COVID-19.
The AGO alleges:
Clean Air EXP has advertised and continues to advertise that its air filtration products neutralize 99.9% of viruses that are “COVID-19 surrogates.”
Previous representations made by Clean Air EXP under the heading “COVID-19 REPORT” on the company’s website suggested that its filtration systems would neutralize 99.9% of “coronavirus,” when in fact this was based on testing of coronavirus 229E, a virus which causes the common cold.
The representations imply that Clean Air EXP’s products can prevent COVID-19 transmission and infection.
In his letter, the AGO notes that he “aware of no scientific research or public health authority certifying any kind of air treatment product as a means of preventing COVID-19 infections.”
“Businesses cannot mislead consumers with their advertising, especially when it comes to health issues as serious as COVID-19,” said Brnovich in a press release. “We will not tolerate companies or individuals attempting to deceive or exploit the public during this public health crisis.”