N.C. businesswoman pleads guilty to selling phony Covid cures

CONCORD - A North Carolina woman pleaded guilty in federal court to selling unapproved drugs with the intent to defraud or mislead the FDA, the U.S. Attorneys' Office announced today.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Diana Daffin, 69, of Charlotte, owned and operated a holistic medicine company called Savvy Holistic Health doing business as Holistic Healthy Pet.

In March 2020, the FDA learned that Daffin was selling unapproved drugs on her website, with the brand name HAMPL, that Daffin claimed were COVID-19 remedies and treatments.

In April and August of 2020, the FDA sent Daffin warning letters explaining that various products she was selling - including the HAMPL COVID-19 drugs - were adulterated, misbranded, and unapproved drugs and that she should take immediate action to correct the violation.

Daffin responded by telling the FDA that she removed the products from her website and would stop distributing them.

However, Daffin did not stop selling the products. Instead, she continued to distribute the unapproved COVID-19 drugs and took steps to defraud and mislead the FDA. For example, she continued to sell unapproved HAMPL brand drugs by moving them to a password protected website, telling one customer that this was her "way of evading the FDA."

In February 2021, Daffin sold an undercover law enforcement officer a HAMPL product that she advertised as a drug that could cure, mitigate, treat, and prevent COVID-19 in humans. In an email leading up to the sale, Daffin told the undercover officer, "This stuff does work for covid, but FDA shut it down." Daffin later sold and shipped the undercover agent the unapproved HAMPL-brand COVID-19 drug and other unapproved drugs.

On March 5, 2021, the undercover agent in New Hampshire received HAMPL drugs sold by Daffin, including the purported COVID-19 remedy. The label stated that it provided "a stronger immunity against CV" and promised "Immunity for Humans."

Daffin is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 2,