The United States filed a civil complaint to recover more than $543,000 from individuals based in China who purported to sell face masks and N-95 respirators at inflated prices but never shipped the products. According to court documents, a number of fraudulent websites were established to purportedly sell N-95 respirators and other protective facemasks in February and March of 2020, just as the number of COVID-19 cases were rising in the United States and the demand for this type of equipment was increasing. The websites were a fraud. Payments for the masks were made through four separate PayPal accounts, all associated with telephones numbers and internet protocol addresses based in China. Law enforcement in the United States became aware of these websites when customers began to notice irregularities with their orders. Some customers simply never received the masks they ordered. Other customers, instead of receiving masks or respirators, received toys or rhinestone necklaces. Victims of the fraud include individuals in the Western District of Virginia, a Florida municipality, and a Wisconsin sheriff’s office.
