Paul Penn, 64, of Johns Creek, Ga., has been sentenced to five months and 29 days of home confinement after admitting he attempted to sell 50 million non-existent facemasks to a foreign government. He was also fined $1,500 and ordered to serve three years of probation. As described in court documents and testimony, Penn, through his company, Spectrum Global Holdings, LLC, agreed with unnamed co-conspirators to act as a middleman in the attempted sale of 50 million 3M Model 1860 Respirator Masks that he and his co-conspirators did not actually possess. Under the deal, Penn was to broker the sale in exchange for a cut of the $317 million sales price, which was more than 500 percent higher than the previous normal market value for N-95 masks. Based on representations from Penn and others, the buyer, a foreign government, wired the funds to complete the purchase, which was disrupted by the U.S. Secret Service just before the transaction could be completed. All of the funds were returned to the foreign government.
