FBI exposes coronavirus scam after 39M masks promised from overseas fail to reach California hospitals
April 12, 2020 / By Danielle Wallace | Fox News
The FBI uncovered an international coronavirus-fueled fraud scheme after more than 39 million masks promised to a powerful California union representing health-care workers were never delivered to hospitals and other medical groups in the state, according to a report published Saturday.
Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West announced on March 26 it had identified a distributor overseas who was willing to sell 39 million critically needed N95 masks, a press release said. The union said it secured the deal after 48 hours calling leads and potential suppliers to help find personal protective equipment for health-care workers on the front lines of the crisis.
An unidentified businessman in Pittsburgh reportedly was helping the union contact a broker in Australia and a distributor in Kuwait on WhatsApp to secure the deal, U.S. Attorney Scott Brady of the Western District of Pennsylvania told the Los Angeles Times.
“We believe we disrupted fraud,” Brady said. “We are seeing fraud in every variation, but mostly in respect to N95 masks. We have an anxious public, and resources are strained.”
