N95 mask maker 3M ramped up efforts to hunt down flimflammers and fraudsters in March. Now, they’ve filed a raft of trademark suits and helped prosecutors build criminal cases against those trying to illegally profit on the pandemic.
Third party vendors swooped in, preying on innocent buyers with a variety of fake offers, counterfeits, deceptive marketing and fraud. By then, 3M was ready with a fraud hotline and website. Teams of 3M lawyers comb through online evidence of fraud and social media trails to demand websites be taken down.
The setup was distinctly international, according to the complaint. Romano promised to source masks through a Mexico-based company and a Peruvian-based exporter working with a company in the Netherlands to procure masks made by 3M in Uruguay. The same group had successfully reached an agreement with Florida Division of Emergency Management officials to buy masks at a 500% markup for $5.4 million, the complaint says, but were not able to find a supply of the face coverings. They did successfully sell $12,000 in masks to a naturopathic medical university at a 360% markup, according to the unsealed complaint. University officials sought to return the three-ply masks, the complaint says, because they were of inferior quality.
That’s what happened in Indiana when a man reached out to state procurement managers with an offer to sell 5 billion marked-up 3M masks. Emails from a trademark suit brought by 3M say he wanted to charge as much as $14.25 billion for a supply of the masks he said were sourced directly from 3M. This case and others also suggest the mask sellers know they’re under the microscope. Many allegedly forged signoffs from 3M officials, according to the civil suits, faked sales to other reputable organizations and even demanded buyers sign non-disclosure agreements in an apparent attempt to shield the sale from regulators.
Responding to 3M’s suit last week, an Indiana federal judge issued a temporary restraining order against Puznak and his company, barring them from using the 3M name. But these vendors cannot guarantee the quality of their goods, she said, or even when the products will arrive. King Law Center director Sharon K. Dudley told USA TODAY that she “acted in good faith,” referring other questions to her attorney, John Brennan.
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