A part-time Huntington Beach actor was charged Friday with persuading victims to invest in companies that sold what turned out to be fake treatments and treatments for COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic, according to the Federal Register. He was convicted of fraud.
Keith Lawrence Middlebrook, 56, was convicted of 11 counts of wire fraud. He could serve up to 20 years in federal prison on each charge when he is sentenced on September 9, but he remains free on $150,000 bail.
Prosecutors say that in March 2020, Middlebrook solicited investments from people in California, Nevada, New York, Texas, and Colorado through various social media channels to sell what he claimed was a “patent pending.” ” promoted treatments and cures for the new coronavirus infection. developed. His claimed treatment was called “QC20” and the treatment was “QP20.”
He guaranteed “huge returns” to investors and even claimed that Lakers great Earvin “Magic” Johnson was a director of his company, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Prosecutors said he also told investors that someone in Dubai had offered to buy the company for $10 billion and promised to refund victims.
Middlebrook was arrested in March 2020 for allegedly giving pills purported to be a cure for the coronavirus to an undercover FBI agent posing as an investor.
According to his page on IMDb, Middlebrook has had bit parts in films such as “Moneyball'' and “Iron Man 2.''
