NEW YORK (Reuters) - A man who claimed in YouTube videos that he had directed others to poison millions of containers of Gerber baby food with the intent to kill babies was arrested on Thursday, federal prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Gerber had not found any evidence that itsproduct had been tampered with, and the MAN (MAN.XE)was charged withmaking threats and falsely claiming to have tampered with aconsumer product.
Anton Dunn, 42, who called himself "Trashman," was behind aseries of videos posted on YouTube and other sites. The videosclaimed that Gerber employees acting at his direction hadpoisoned millions of bottles of baby food, said prosecutors atManhattan federal court.
In several videos, Dunn -- wearing a black mask -- said thebaby food had been poisoned with cyanide, prosecutors said.
A spokesman for Gerber, which is owned by Switzerland-basedNestle, said in a statement the company stands behind thesafety of its products.
"We are aware of a recent posting on the Internet andbelieve this is a malicious hoax," said David Mortazavi. "Thesafety of Gerber and Nestle Nutrition products is our toppriority. We are taking this issue seriously, and arecooperating fully with federal authorities."
The videos, posted from April to July, also claimed thatthe affected food had been shipped to consumers and it was "toolate" to do anything about it, prosecutors said.
On July 24, similar videos appeared on the Web sitesWorldstarhiphop.com and Mediatakeout.com.
Dunn, a Manhattan resident, faces charges of sendingthreats and falsely claiming to have tampered with a consumerproduct. Each count carries a maximum sentence of five years inprison. Some of the videos can still be viewed online.
(Reporting by Edith Honan; Editing by Eric Walsh)
