More than 11 million counterfeiters N95 masks over the past five countries, the Department of Homeland Security has been seized, and according to authorities, victims of the scam include hospitals and medical facilities in at least 12 states.
The total contains 1 million fake masks seized today in a warehouse in Western Maryland, DHS Minister Alejandro Mayorkas announced on Wednesday.
An initial criminal investigation has revealed that China is the source of the false masks allegedly manufactured by the American manufacturer 3M, Steve Francis, director of the Intellectual Property Coordination Center, led the investigation arm of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s investigation, Homeland Security Investigations.
“They are extremely dangerous,” Francis told reporters. “They offer a false sense of security to our first responders, to American consumers. I can not stress how important it is to ensure we have the legal 3M N95 masks used for our first responders.”
Mayorkas, who calls the counterfeit breathing machines ‘useless’, said that a health worker who uses one around a patient then becomes a danger to others. “They not only give a false sense of security, but how dangerous is the exposed individual?” Mayorkas introduced himself to reporters who met during his first press conference as leader of the Department of Homeland Security. “How dangerous is the individual experiencing a potential COVID-19 infection without protective equipment?”
DHS has notified about 6,000 suspected victims of the massive scam and advised them to check their stock for counterfeit N95 masks.
As of Feb. 10, the department’s investigative arm seized more than $ 33 million in illegal proceeds. COVID-19-related fraud. Officials arrested 227 people, served 222 criminal search warrants and opened 862 investigations as part of an ongoing investigation into health care fraud launched in April 2020, called by the agency ‘Operation Stolen Promise’. In addition, more than 1,800 shipments of incorrectly marked, fraudulent, unauthorized, or prohibited test kits or PBTs were seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
About 2 million fake 3M masks worth $ 8 million were found in about 40 hospitals in the state of Washington, according to the Washington State Hospital Association. “These masks had the necessary paperwork and passed physical inspections and tests,” said Cassie Sauer, president and CEO of the association. “These N95s are precious resources we need to keep staff safe. It is reprehensible that counterfeiters sell counterfeit goods.”
Pirate masks were also found at Cleveland Clinic this month. The prominent medical center in Ohio has found that a portion of its offering dating back to November contains N95 respirators fraudulently purchased by a third-party vendor. In a statement to CBS News, Cleveland Clinic said it had “taken immediate steps to remove these masks from our sites and replaced them with approved supplies” following an internal investigation.
In a statement to CBS News, the Minnesota Department of Health said it was preventing ‘500,000 counterfeit N95 respirators from being distributed to health care facilities in Minnesota’, pointing out that half a million counterfeit respirators – worth $ 2 , 1 million – to 3M for destruction.
As the pandemic rumbles, Mayorkas recommends that scammers continue to exploit desperate Americans, hospitals and medical providers “for a quick buck.” Federal investigators point to an increase in sites using counterfeit drugs and appear to be claiming to be selling vaccines.
“We’ve seen the whole spectrum,” PI Lechleitner, acting executive director of HSI, said on Wednesday. “People are trying to prey on individuals. We have seen the deception in fraudulent vaccines. So, every way where the criminal enterprises see an entrance to make money or fraud individuals, we see.”
Acting Director of ICE Tae Johnson told reporters that initial attacks came on Wednesday’s fake 3M mask attack. “We’ve been rushing a bit and following it to the conclusion,” Johnson said, adding that officials believe the operations to stop the massive scam will spread to more states in the coming weeks. “Our work is still ongoing. We have been investigating ‘Stolen Promises’ since April. So our work continues.”