Was the Peru Meteorite story a hoax?

There seems to be some talk that people think the news of hundreds falling ill from the Peru meteorite was a hoax. There is an interesting first person tail of an attempt to study the impact written by Michael Farmer. He speculates that it likely was just sulfur causing the illness, but his story states the the area was well guarded by local police; so he was unable to complete collecting samples due to a fear the police would arrest him. Apparently he was buying meteorites from them for $100 bucks a rock, and knowing he was a rich American, were upset he did not give them more.