LINCOLN — An Omaha businessman pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges of mail fraud and selling an unregistered pesticide for marketing a product it falsely claimed was “EPA-approved” and effective against the COVID virus.

Matthew Petersen, 39, of Omaha, the president of Quin Global, is scheduled to be sentenced along with his company on July 19 before U.S. District Judge Robert Rossiter.

Petersen faces a maximum of 1 year in prison, a $50,000 fine, and a year term of supervised release. His firm faces 5 years’ probation on each count, and fines of $500,000 and $200,000, respectively, or twice the gross gain or loss in the sale of the product, whichever is higher.

The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act requires the registration, and the submission of efficacy data for all pesticides sold in the United States, including anti-microbial pesticides like the one marketed by Quin Global.

In March 2020, Quin Global sought to expand its business by selling an anti-microbial that it had purchased from a distributor that was EPA-approved. It diluted and repackaged the product into its own application systems marketing it under the name, Ramsol-RS1.

But the company never sought registration under FIFRA, or EPA approval. Meanwhile, the product was shipped to 73 distributors across the U.S. and Canada.

In July 2020, the EPA’s investigation center tested the Quin Global product, finding it to be significantly diluted, with active ingredients being diluted over 100 times more than the product should be when mixed with a gallon of water.

Quin Global, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, sold about $1.4 million worth of Ramsol-RS1 and $185,000 in related equipment before it stopped sales after being confronted by the Environmental Protection Agency.

This story was originally published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. It is part of the national nonprofit States Newsroom. Find more at nebraskaexaminer.com.