Dr. Tina Wong, a California pediatrician and doTerra distributor, paid a $15,000 fine for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 and doTerra products. The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on January 5 on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission, citing violations of the FTC Act and the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act. Wong, a "Blue Diamond" ranked distributor, operates her doTerra business with her husband, Dr. Mark Wong. They are also members of doTerra's "Founders Club 2.0."

The DOJ's complaint detailed claims Wong made during a January 12, 2022, doTerra webinar titled "The Path Forward: Protocols for the Current Climate." During the webinar, Wong introduced herself as a "board-certified pediatrician" and promoted doTerra products in a segment on "COVID PREVENTION BASICS." She recommended doTerra's Lifelong Vitality Pack, PB Assist, and TerraZyme for nutrition and gut health, claiming their importance for the immune system.

Wong also advised using doTerra's On Guard and oregano essential oils "three ways," including ingestion, for sore throats. She stated, "I will gargle and I will swallow and that takes care of so much of the beginning of a sore throat." She also mentioned frankincense for its anti-inflammatory properties and immune system benefits. Wong claimed oregano was "effective against a coronavirus, which is the family that COVID is in."

The pediatrician then extended her advice to children, outlining "pediatric prevention/support for COVID" that focused on doTerra supplements. She suggested giving children doTerra's IOmega, A to Z Chewables, and On Guard Chewable Tablets, recommending six On Guard tablets daily if a child had COVID-19. She also endorsed PB Assist for children, suggesting up to four a day for "good immune health."

For children over one year old, Wong recommended diluted essential oils like frankincense or lemon applied to the skin after warm baths to reduce congestion, suggesting multiple baths a day. She also told parents to let children's fevers "burn out the virus," rather than treating them. Wong concluded by equating doTerra essential oils to drugs, stating, "that's what the drugs do, too. So use your oils instead and then use them frequently."

In a separate January 27, 2022, doTerra webinar, Wong called essential oils a "flu buster." She claimed essential oils could penetrate cell membranes to "kill viruses or to change their modulation, the way that they're expressed," unlike most antibiotics. She specifically cited On Guard as an "antivirus" and a "great flu buster."

Wong further claimed doTerra's lemon and geranium essential oils functioned similarly to mRNA vaccines. She stated they "inhibit the mRNA transcription of the virus," preventing viral replication. She also prescribed a doTerra essential oil "protocol" for regaining smell and taste after COVID-19, involving smelling clove, lemon, rose, and eucalyptus oils three times a day for 20 seconds each, promising results in 6 to 12 weeks.

The "protocol" for "using the doTerra products for COVID" also advised consuming "a ton of supplements, a ton of oils," showering, hydrotherapy, and smelling, drinking, and applying oils to the skin. The DOJ's complaint noted, "At present, there is no published report of any well-controlled human clinical study to substantiate that any of the doTERRA Products referenced above treat, prevent, reduce the risk or severity of, or cure COVID-19."

Dr. Wong settled the lawsuit without admitting guilt. The settlement includes a ban on making COVID-19 or other health-related claims about doTerra products without "competent and reliable scientific evidence." She must preserve data from any clinical tests, avoid representing doTerra products as "scientifically or clinically proven," pay a $15,000 civil penalty, and submit compliance reports to the FTC for ten years. She also agreed to record and preserve data related to doTerra product sales, including consumer complaints and refund requests, for ten years. The court approved the settlement on January 10.