Government investigating massive counterfeit N95 mask scam

[EvilEyeFleegle]

Fraudulent profiting off of a crisis..as American as apple pie!

Government investigating massive counterfeit N95 mask scam

Federal authorities are investigating a massive counterfeit N95 mask operation in which fake 3M masks were sold in at least five states to hospitals, medical facilities and government agencies. The foreign-made knockoffs are becoming increasingly difficult to spot and could put health care workers at grave risk for the coronavirus.
These masks are giving first responders “a false sense of security,” said Steve Francis, assistant director for global trade investigations with the Homeland Security Department’s principal investigative arm. He added, “We’ve seen a lot of fraud and other illegal activity.”
Officials could not name the states or the company involved because of the active investigation.
Nearly a year into the pandemic, fraud remains a major problem as scammers seek to exploit hospitals and desperate and weary Americans. Federal investigators say they have seen an increase in phony websites purporting to sell vaccines as well as fake medicine produced overseas and scams involving personal protective equipment. The schemes deliver phony products, unlike fraud earlier in the pandemic that focused more on fleecing customers.

 

[Grumblenuts]

Thing is we're accustomed to buying cheap foreign crap from nearly everywhere. They're often the only source now having driven everyone else out of business. What
constitutes "fraud" in such contexts?

Beth Zborowski of the Washington State Hospital Association said the fraud has the potential to affect 1.9 million masks but they are mostly in stockpile now rather than general circulation.

She said the mask supplier had been vetted and the masks "passed all the physical and visual inspection test.” Zborowski said that for a time, the association could not get the masks directly from 3M, but the company now is expediting its order after learning of the fraud.

Health care workers “have plenty of anxieties on a day-to-day basis. They don’t need to also worry about whether their masks are fake,” she said.

I submit that, regardless of manufacturer, where the item in question passes all visual and physical tests..

the gold standard in protection against the coronavirus.

it's practically speaking, equivalent! A useful, timely, (most likely) life saving duplicate. Perhaps purchased at too high a price. If so, the buyer should have known that already when placing the order. Perhaps purchased much cheaper than the original cost. If so, this report mysteriously doesn't mention that possibility (likelihood?). Why not? Maybe because it's a competing "fraud"?

“They're not coming from authorized distributors,” said Kevin Rhodes, 3M’s vice president

Ah, so 3M decides who "is authorized" to distribute and who is not. Oh, then how could the hospital's supplier have been "vetted"? Who are we really concerned about protecting here?

During the pandemic, Homeland Security Investigations has used its 7,000 agents in tandem with border officials, the Food and Drug Administration and the FBI to investigate scams, seize phony products and arrest hundreds of people to help stop fraud. The effort is based at the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, a government watchdog aimed at enforcing international trade laws and combating intellectual property theft.

There's the money quote. What do you call it when government mainly serves large monopoly interests? "Intellectual property" vs the interests of the people (faced with a pandemic)?

 

[Muhammed]

Fraudulent profiting off of a crisis..as American as apple pie!

Government investigating massive counterfeit N95 mask scam

Federal authorities are investigating a massive counterfeit N95 mask operation in which fake 3M masks were sold in at least five states to hospitals, medical facilities and government agencies. The foreign-made knockoffs are becoming increasingly difficult to spot and could put health care workers at grave risk for the coronavirus.
These masks are giving first responders “a false sense of security,” said Steve Francis, assistant director for global trade investigations with the Homeland Security Department’s principal investigative arm. He added, “We’ve seen a lot of fraud and other illegal activity.”
Officials could not name the states or the company involved because of the active investigation.
Nearly a year into the pandemic, fraud remains a major problem as scammers seek to exploit hospitals and desperate and weary Americans. Federal investigators say they have seen an increase in phony websites purporting to sell vaccines as well as fake medicine produced overseas and scams involving personal protective equipment. The schemes deliver phony products, unlike fraud earlier in the pandemic that focused more on fleecing customers.

"You never want to let a serious crisis go to waste" ~ quoted from Rahm Emmanuel

 

[HenryBHough]

Check The Pelosi family business' import records very carefully. China churns out a hell of a lot of mislabeled trash but can't sell it without an accomplice.