Philly Leader

State Attorney General Josh Shapiro has taken action against Andre Doroshin, the director and CEO of Philly Fighting COVID Inc., for violating nonprofit corporation laws.

Shapiro, according to a release from his office, filed a civil complaint charging Doroshin and members of his organization with numerous violations and ordering the company to destroy private data the company had gathered from consumers.

“Mr. Doroshin put people’s privacy at risk under the guise of serving as a nonprofit, and he is now being held accountable for those actions,” Shapiro said in the release. “Under the terms of this settlement, Doroshin must destroy all of the private data gathered through Philly Fighting COVID’s pre-registration services, and is banned from doing any work of this kind in Pennsylvania for the next decade. If Doroshin or any of his associates from Philly Fighting COVID violate this order, my office will not hesitate to act.”

A consent decree has been submitted to the court and awaits approval. Under terms of the decree, Doroshin and his associates are prohibited for 10 years from “governing, controlling, administering, or possessing charitable assets or soliciting charitable donations of any kind in Pennsylvania.” Doroshin is also prevented from “deriving any financial benefit from any insurance company, government agency, or a third party through the database of consumer health information obtained through COVIDReadi and the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine, and must immediately destroy all personal health information gathered through the course of Philly Fighting COVID’s COVIDReadi pre-registration service.”

The Office of Attorney General must confirm the destruction via an affidavit and a certification of compliance, according to the release.

Philly Fighting COVID, Inc., must be dissolved within 90 days of the court’s approval and pay $30,000 in restitution by Sept. 5, 2022, to avoid an additional $30,000 in costs and penalties. All of the restitution, according to the release, will be paid to the Office of Attorney General for distribution to legitimate charitable organizations to provide COVID-19 testing and vaccination services to disadvantaged communities in Philadelphia.

“I want to thank Attorney General Josh Shapiro and his staff for their investigation and work to hold Mr. Doroshin accountable,” Mayor Jim Kenney said in the release. “As we’ve said previously, working with Mr. Doroshin and Philly Fighting COVID was a mistake. Over the past 13 months, I’m proud that Philadelphia has become one of the most vaccinated cities in the country.”

If Doroshin, Philly Fighting COVID Inc., or Vax Populi Inc. is caught violating the terms of the settlement, they are jointly liable for more than $700K in penalties and costs.