Imran Selcuk, age 35, of Troy, New York, pled guilty today to hoarding and price gouging in violation of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (DPA). As part of his guilty plea to a misdemeanor, Selcuk admitted that, in March 2020, he purchased approximately 100,000 KN95 facemasks and 25,000 surgical-style facemasks for $1 per mask and 50 cents per mask, respectively. Selcuk then offered these masks for sale at his Troy pizza restaurant and through a website at markups of as high as 500%. Selcuk also admitted that his website falsely represented that the KN95 masks he offered for sale were certified by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA). In fact, the FDA does not “certify” facemasks.
