Richard Schirripa, 66, a/k/a “the Mask Man,” a licensed pharmacist of Fort Salonga, New York, was charged with one count of violating the Defense Production Act, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison; two counts of making false statements, each of which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; one count of healthcare fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison, which must run consecutively to any other sentence of imprisonment. Manhattan US Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As alleged, Richard Schirripa exploited an unprecedented crisis to engage in profiteering. He allegedly spent over $200,000 accumulating N95 masks and then sold masks at inflated prices, charging customers up to 50% more than he had paid to acquire those N95 masks. As alleged, during a sale to an undercover officer, Schirripa said, ‘I feel like a drug dealer.’ He also allegedly committed several additional, unrelated crimes, including lying to law enforcement, defrauding Medicare and Medicaid, and exploiting the personal information of his pharmacy’s customers to fill prescriptions.”
