Actor Keith Middlebrook Sentenced for COVID Fraud

Keith Lawrence Middlebrook, a 57-year-old part-time actor from Huntington Beach, was sentenced to 98 months in federal prison for soliciting investments in a fraudulent COVID-19 cure during the pandemic. He falsely claimed to have developed a 'patent-pending' cure named 'QC20' and a treatment called 'QP20,' promising investors miraculous results and guaranteed enormous returns. Middlebrook misled investors by asserting that NBA legend Earvin 'Magic' Johnson was involved in his companies and that a party in Dubai had offered $10 billion to buy them. He was convicted on 11 counts of wire fraud after lying on the witness stand about his claims. U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer noted that Middlebrook obstructed justice during the trial. He was arrested in March 2020 after delivering pills he claimed could prevent coronavirus infection to an undercover FBI agent posing as an investor.