Bean Town Times

A California company and three of its executives have been charged with conspiring to sell misbranded N95 masks during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Advoque Safeguard LLC (ASG) faces one count of conspiracy to introduce misbranded devices into interstate commerce with intent to defraud or mislead, a violation under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The individuals involved are Jason Azevedo from Cedar Creek, Texas; Paul Shrater from Simi Valley, California; and Andrew Stack from Santa Cruz, California. They are each charged with introducing misbranded devices into interstate commerce.

Plea hearings for these charges have not yet been scheduled. This development follows earlier charges against JDM Supply LLC (JDM) and two individuals, Daniel Motha and Jeffrey Motha, who agreed to plead guilty in connection with this investigation. Additionally, Jason Colantuoni pleaded guilty in August 2023 to conspiracy to commit price gouging.

The charging documents reveal that ASG and JDM conspired in spring 2020 to ship facemasks falsely branded as National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-approved N95 respirators. A hospital identified as "HOSPITAL 1" reportedly accepted these masks but did not use them after discovering they were not NIOSH-approved. Tests conducted by a NIOSH lab in August 2020 showed that the ASG masks failed to meet the required 95% filtration efficiency for N95 respirators.

The charge related to conspiracy carries a potential fine of $500,000 or twice the pecuniary gain or loss caused by the offense and up to five years of probation. Introducing a misbranded device can result in up to one year in prison, supervised release for a year, and fines reaching $100,000.

The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy along with officials from various federal agencies including the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations.

This case is part of broader efforts initiated on May 17, 2021, when the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force aimed at tackling pandemic-related fraud through coordinated efforts across government agencies.

Details within charging documents remain allegations until proven otherwise in court.