Federal authorities recommend that as many as five states have purchased fake N95 masks, hospitals, medical facilities and government agencies stocked with imitations made abroad that put health workers at risk for the coronavirus.
The fake masks are very similar to N95 masks produced by the Minnesota-based company 3M. Officials have started investigations in five states.
These masks create “a false sense of security,” said Steve Francis, deputy director for global trade research at the Homeland Security Department.
N95 masks destined for an East Coast hospital where medical workers are fighting on the front lines of the December 2020 coronavirus pandemic.
(US customs and border control)
“We have seen a lot of fraud and other illegal activity,” added Francis.
The masks are provided by “just emerging” companies, said Kevin Rhodes, 3M’s vice president and deputy general counsel.
“They don’t come from authorized distributors,” said Rhodes.
During the pandemic, Homeland Security Investigations seized more than 10 million counterfeit 3M masks. The company has filed more than a dozen lawsuits over reports of fraud and counterfeiting, as demand for the small, form-fitting masks has skyrocketed in 2020.
CALIFORNIA MAN TESTS POSITIVELY FOR COVID-19 WEEKS AFTER SECOND JAB: REPORT
Officials have not identified the states or companies under investigation, but Washington State officials found that 300,000 masks purchased for about $ 1.4 million were counterfeit.
“3M recently assisted Washington State authorities by confirming that N95 respirators purchased from distributors unrelated to 3M are not genuine 3M products,” the manufacturer wrote in an email to Fox. News. “3M recommends that you purchase our products only from an Authorized 3M Distributor.”
Cassie Sauer, president and chief executive officer of the Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA), said perpetrators have become quite adept at creating fraudulent personal protective equipment (PPE), and that some health workers wearing the fake N95s didn’t even make a difference .
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
In a related press release sent to Fox News, Sauer said that “these masks have proper paperwork and passed physical inspection and testing.”
Fox News’ Kayla Rivas contributed to this report, as did The Associated Press.