Over 11 million counterfeits Masks N95 in five states they have been apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security in recent weeks, and officials say victims suspected of the coup include hospitals and medical facilities in at least 12 states.
That total includes 1 million fake masks seized today in a warehouse in western Maryland, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced on Wednesday.
An initial criminal investigation revealed that China is the source of fake masks allegedly made by the American manufacturer 3M, said Steve Francis, director of the Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, which is led by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigative arm, Homeland Security Investigations.
“They are extremely dangerous,” Francis told reporters. “They are providing a false sense of security to our first responders, to American consumers. I cannot emphasize how important it is to ensure that we have the legitimate 3M N95 masks that are being deployed to our first responders.”
Mayorkas, who called counterfeit respirators “of no use”, said a healthcare professional who wears one near a patient becomes a danger to others. “Do they not only give a false sense of security, but how dangerous is the exposed individual?” Mayorkas posed for reporters gathered at his inaugural news conference as head of the Department of Homeland Security. “How dangerous is the individual who faces a potential COVID-19 infection without any protective equipment?”
DHS has notified about 6,000 suspected victims of the mass coup, advising them to check for counterfeit N95 masks in their supplies.
Since February 10, the department’s investigative arm has seized more than $ 33 million in illegal proceeds linked to COVID-19– related fraud. Authorities arrested 227 people, served 222 criminal search warrants and opened 862 investigations as part of a health fraud investigation launched in April 2020, dubbed “Operation Stolen Promise” by the agency. In addition, more than 1,800 shipments of test kits or PPE with wrong, fraudulent, unauthorized or prohibited labels have been seized by US Customs and Border Protection.
About 2 million fake 3M masks worth $ 8 million have been found in approximately 40 hospitals in Washington state alone, according to the Washington State Hospital Association. “These masks had the appropriate paperwork and passed physical inspection and testing,” said Cassie Sauer, president and CEO of the association. “These N95s are precious resources that we need to keep employees safe. It is reprehensible that counterfeiters are selling counterfeit products.”
Pirate masks were also found this month at the Cleveland Clinic. The prominent Ohio medical center found that a portion of its supply dating back to November contained fraudulent branded N95 respirators purchased from a third-party supplier. In a statement to CBS News, the Cleveland Clinic said it took “immediate action to remove these masks from our websites and replace them with approved supplies” after an internal investigation.
In a statement to CBS News, the Minnesota Department of Health said it prevented “500,000 counterfeit N95 respirators from being distributed to Minnesota health facilities” this month, noting that half a million imitation respirators – valued at $ 2, 1 million – would be handed over to 3M for destruction.
As the pandemic progresses, Mayorkas has advised that scammers continue to exploit desperate Americans, hospitals and medical providers “for a quick buck.” Federal investigators point to an increase in counterfeit drugs and fake websites that claim to sell vaccines.
“We saw the whole spectrum,” said HSI Acting Executive Director, PJ Lechleitner, on Wednesday. “People try to attack individuals. We have seen it turn into fraudulent vaccines. So, any way that criminal companies see an entry to earn some money or defraud individuals, we are seeing.”
Acting ICE director Tae Johnson told reporters that the initial clues about the forged mask seizure on Wednesday came from 3M. “We kind of ran down and tracked it to completion,” Johnson said, adding that officials believe that operations to prevent the massive coup of counterfeit mask will spread to more states in the coming weeks. “Our work is still in progress. We have been investigating ‘Stolen Promises’ since April. Therefore, our work continues.”