Kenneth Bryan Ritchey, 57, of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, was charged with defrauding the United States and other healthcare providers in a $1.8 million scheme related to acquiring and hoarding personal protective equipment (PPE) and price gouging healthcare providers, including numerous U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals in critical need of PPE. The indictment alleges that after the first US-confirmed case of COVID-19, Ritchey participated in a scheme to defraud healthcare providers, including the VA, of more than $1.8 million by acquiring PPE and other designated materials from all possible sources, including home improvement stores and online retailers, and ultimately hoarding the same. The indictment alleges that due to nationwide PPE shortages and COVID-19-related fears, Ritchey directed sales representatives to solicit healthcare providers, including the VA, to purchase PPE and other designated materials at excessively inflated prices through high-pressure sales tactics and through misrepresenting sourcing and actual costs. It is alleged that Ritchey sold PPE to healthcare providers desperate to acquire the same at incredible markups. For instance, the indictment alleges that Ritchey sold N-95 masks to the VA and other healthcare providers for as much as $25.00 per mask, despite acquiring such masks at much lower prices.
