U.S. Attorney Stephen J. Cox for the Eastern District of Texas joined fellow U.S. Attorneys in Texas—Ryan K. Patrick in the Southern District, Erin Nealy Cox in the Northern District and John F. Bash in the Western District—and U.S. Attorney General Ken Paxton to inform the public about several fraudulent schemes involving masks, personal protection equipment (PPE), and other COVID-19 related equipment. They urge everyone to exercise increased due-diligence and caution when dealing with new suppliers or vendors, especially when using a third-party broker.
According to Davilyn Walston, Public Affairs Officer for U.S. Attorney Stephen J. Cox, as demand for PPE increases locally, scammers may advertise equipment they do not actually have in attempts to make a quick profit. These PPE products they offer may be counterfeit and/or mislabeled, and some may not exist at all. Some fraudsters reach out directly to consumers and government entities through email or social media to push their products. Red flags that a seller may be engaging in a scam include:
• Unusual payment terms
• Last-minute price changes
• Last-minute excuses for delay in shipment
• Unexplained sourcing of a large quantities of material
• Evidence of re-packaging or mislabeling
There are ongoing federal and state prohibitions on charging exorbitant prices for PPE during this time of national emergency.
Texans who believe they have encountered scams or price gouging should call the Texas Office of the Attorney General’s toll-free complaint line at (800) 621-0508 or file a complaint online at https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/consumer-protection.
For additional information on disaster scams, please visit the National Center for Disaster Fraud at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud.
More information on unapproved or counterfeit PPE can be found at the Centers for Disease Control and Protection website https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/.
You can also find information on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website at https://www.fda.gov/ and the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency website at https://www.epa.gov/.
If you have information about PPE-related fraud, or about hoarding or price gouging of critical supplies, you can report it without leaving your home to the National Center for Disaster Fraud by calling the National Hotline at (866) 720-5721 or going to their website https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud.