by Sharon Rondeau
(Nov. 30, 2023) — As of 3:11 p.m. EST, Missouri chiropractor and doctor of natural medicine (DNM) Eric Nepute is recounting to “The Highwire” founder Del Bigtree the life-changing events he experienced after the Biden Justice Department and other agencies accused him of malpractice for recommending hydroxychloroquine, ivermectin, Vitamin D, zinc and other supplements to his patients to combat COVID-19.
Nepute is founder of Nepute Wellness System, which he said prior to the lawsuit consisted of 13 locations.
He described how his attorneys called one day to inform him he had broken a record by becoming the target of a $500 billion lawsuit, the largest in U.S. history, over his approach to treating the virus.
After a review of his websites and social media, “We have determined that you are unlawfully advertising that certain products or services treat or prevent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19),” the FTC wrote in a May 21, 2020 “warning letter” to Nepute.
In an April 15, 2021 court filing, the FTC wrote:
Defendants sell nutritional supplements containing Vitamin D and zinc, among
other products. Recently, Defendants have been advertising their Vitamin D and zinc products—including “Wellness Warrior Vita D”, “Wellness Warrior Zinc”, and others—on social media and the internet as drugs capable of treating, or preventing COVID-19. Defendants even claim that their products are more effective than the available COVID-19 vaccines. Defendants lack valid factual or scientific bases for these claims, which are frequently accompanied by equally unsupported assertions regarding the applicable science. In short, Defendants are selling their products by disseminating misinformation, exploiting fears in the midst of a pandemic, and posing a significant risk to public health and safety.
At 3:20 p.m., Bigtree asked how long the case took to resolve, to which Nepute responded, “Three years” at a personal financial cost of $5 million.
Specifically, Nepute was accused of violating the 2,124-page COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act passed by the 116th Congress in December 2020, just as the “vaccines” rushed through production to market during “Operation Warp Speed” were becoming available in the U.S.
“The federal government tries to bankrupt you,” Nepute said at 3:21. “When the government asked for a motion for summary judgment, the judge said, ‘No guilt…'”
“Does it end up settling?” Bigtree asked.
The first trial, Nepute responded, was scheduled for November 2022, but studies were published at the time supporting natural treatments for COVID-19, “so the case got moved.”
He went through arbitration over the summer, he said, and the DOJ was told “there was no way they could win this case.”
The DOJ gave him “three choices,” Nepute said, and said to him, “Once we lose, we’re gonna appeal this thing…We can also right now give you a gag order…and talk about some kind of legal reimbursement.”
“Option #3,” he quoted the government as having presented, was that he would receive “letters” to be used to reinstate his bank accounts and insurance policies which the holders had dropped after the government’s accusations were lodged.
As expected, Nepute said he refused that choice in favor of “freedom.” He paid $80,000 to settle one claim and $1 million for a second, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported in August, and “did not admit to any of the allegations.”
“Just say no,” he said in response to his persecution. “If we didn’t stand…we would never have the opportunity to have the future, and we know it’s going to happen.”
Bigtree acknowledged Nepute as having also stood up to the government “for ‘The Highwire.'” “These are historic, Founding Father-type moments, and it’s just amazing to know you’re out there,” he said of Nepute and others who clung to their principles in the face of government intimidation.
At 3:15 p.m., Bigtree played a clip of then-NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci who told interviewer Jennifer Garner that he himself took Vitamin D and C supplements to boost his immunity.
“This is a spiritual battle,” Nepute told Bigtree at 3:31, quoting Scripture.
“Through all of this, it really is the only way to have the strength to handle this battle,” Bigtree responded, referring to Christian faith.
Nepute is also a speaker in the health freedom movement as well as a radio show host. In closing, he told Bigtree that “something special” is on the horizon.