SAN ANTONIO, Texas (WAND) - A Texas man who made claims online that he had paid someone with COVID-19 to lick groceries at San Antonio stores will spend over a year in prison.
The sentence was handed down Wednesday against Christopher Charles Perez, 40, who also goes by the last name of Robbins, according to NBC News. A federal jury found him guilty on two charges of making false hoaxes related to biological weapons.
Along with just over a year behind bars, Perez must pay a $1,000 fine.
Perez posted the following, court documents said: "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!!!"
On April 5, 2020, a screenshot of the post went to the Southwest Texas Fusion Center, which contacted the San Antonio FBI bureau.
NBC News reports Perez told investigators his post was a hoax and that he wrote it because he thought too many people were still grocery shopping in person. According to court documents, he claimed he "was trying to scare people from the stores in order to stop them from spreading the virus to keep people safe."
The documents said Perez added he didn't know anyone who had COVID-19.
Even though investigators reached the same conclusion about the post being fake, they still took it seriously. U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff said "trying to scare people with the threat of spreading dangerous diseases is no joking matter."
“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 would like to thank our law enforcement partners for their help in this case.”
