UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting spawns range of online merchandise

Shirts, mugs and stickers bearing the words "Deny Defend Depose" are appearing for sale on e-commerce websites just days after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot to death in New York City.  

Those words were scrawled on three shell casings found at the scene of the Dec. 4 shooting in Manhattan, according to law enforcement sources, and loosely echo the title of a book about why insurance companies deny patient claims. The title — "Delay Deny Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It," by Jay Feinman — is described on Amazon as "an exposé of insurance injustice and a plan for consumers and lawmakers to fight back."

Feinman has declined to comment on the recent events, including on the words police say were written on the shell casings.

Sellers on online marketplace Etsy list over 800 items bearing "Deny Defend Depose," including stickers, candles and apparel, while eBay is selling stickers, clothing, lawn signs and cell phone cases with the phrase.  

In a statement to CBS MoneyWatch, eBay said the sale of items with the words does not violate its policies. But the company added that "items that glorify or incite violence, including those that celebrate the recent murder of UHC CEO Brian Thompson, are prohibited."

Amazon said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch that it had removed similar merchandise from its platform, saying that the products violated the company's guidelines.

Merchants often race to market wares related to dramatic current events, even when they involve violence. After President-elect Donald Trump was struck in the ear by a bullet in an assassination attempt over the summer, for example, sellers quickly started hawking merchandise with images of Trump at the rally. Many products also were sold online and in stores immediately after the 9/11 attacks.