3M announced it has resolved a federal court case in Indiana to halt a scam that promised billions of nonexistent N95 respirators.
The defendant––ZeroAqua––had attempted to defraud Indiana officials out of $14.25 billion for nonexistent N95 respirators, according to 3M. The claims were resolved through a consent agreement, a court-entered permanent injunction and a payment to 3M for a donation to a COVID-19-related charity.
3M intends to pursue court action against additional “architects” of the scheme.
“We will continue our global fight against fraud and work with law enforcement to help punish bad actors,” 3M Senior Counsel William Childs said in a statement.
"3M has not, and will not, increase the prices of its respirators as a result of the pandemic,” the company said in a statement. “3M has filed 17 lawsuits in the U.S. and Canada to combat fraud. The damages 3M seeks in these enforcement efforts are for the harm these bad actors cause and to punish wrongdoers, and any damages recovered are donated to COVID-19 relief efforts at nonprofit organizations, including Direct Relief."
