Almost $800 Million In Mask Scams Alleged In The U.S. Alone

TOPLINE

In the U.S. alone, officials have charged individuals promising to sell millions of masks without ever delivering, as companies, governments and health officials desperately try to end the national PPE shortage—and scammers see an opportunity to capitalize.

KEY FACTS

Surprising Fact

New York officials tapped Real Housewife-cum-business mogul-philanthropist Bethenny Frankel, according to the New York Times
NYT
, to obtain 15 million masks first for $82.5 million, then 10 million masks $66.5 million from entrepreneurs who never actually delivered a single mask.

Key Background

Current and former government officials say that the PPE shortage could’ve been avoided and is the fault of the federal government, according to the Washington Post. They also allege that the federal government is falling far short of obtaining the 3.5 billion masks that officials have long estimated the country would need in a pandemic of this nature. On the contrary, President Trump has said that the country has “tremendous supply to almost all places.”

“Words are inadequate to describe the inaction,” said Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, to the Washington Post on the matter: “So much of this was preventable. It did not have to happen this way.”

Tangent

Gold standard PPE manufacturer 3M has filed 10 lawsuits in the last several weeks against people purporting to sell their masks without an actual legitimate business connection to the company, according to the New York Times. 3M has also set up a hotline for anyone in the U.S. or Canada to call in and report scammers and counterfeiters pretending to sell their equipment.  

Further Reading

SEC Cracks Down On Coronavirus Scams Thanks To An Army Of Whistleblowers (Forbes)

‘No offense, but is this a joke?’ Inside the underground market for face masks. (Washington Post)

Bethenny Frankel’s Dark Journey to Find Medical Masks (New York Times)

A California Pair Have Been Arrested And Charged With Fraud Over A Multimillion-Dollar Face Mask And Respirator Deal (BuzzFeed News)

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