Threatening to infect people with COVID-19 is a serious crime that could land you in prison, even if it you aren’t serious about it.
For example, a San Antonio, Tex., man who claimed on Facebook that he paid someone with COVID-19 to intentionally spread the virus was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison this week, according to the Department of Justice.
“My homeboys cousin has covid19 and has licked every thing for past 2 days cause we paid him too [sic]. Big difference is we told him not to be these f------ idiots who record and post online. . .YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!” said the message posted by Christopher Charles Perez, aged 40, according to NBC News. Perez also goes by the name Christopher Robbins.
He posted the hoax message on Facebook in April 2020, shortly after COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. Court records show that he posted another threatening message as well.
By April 5, a screenshot of the first post was sent to the Southwest Texas Fusion Center via an online tip and the center contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation San Antonio office. Authorities determined the threat as false through an investigation and Perez’s admission.
“Those who would threaten to use COVID-19 as a weapon against others will be held accountable for their actions, even if the threat was a hoax,” said FBI San Antonio Division Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs. “Perez’s actions were knowingly designed to spread fear and panic and today’s sentencing illustrates the seriousness of this crime.”
The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, and Weapons of Mass Destruction personnel conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys William R. Harris, Kelly Stephenson and Mark Roomberg prosecuted the case.
A federal jury found Perez guilty of two counts of spreading false information and hoaxes related to biological weapons. In addition to the sentence, Perez was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine.
“Trying to scare people with the threat of spreading dangerous diseases is no joking matter,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff. “This office takes seriously threats to harm the community and will prosecute them to the full extent of the law.”
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