GA Man Charged In $750M Scheme To Sell Nonexistent Face Masks

ATLANTA, GA — An Atlanta man is facing a federal wire fraud charge for trying to sell nonexistent face masks to the Department of Veterans Affairs in a fraud scheme that would have cost the agency more than $750 million, federal prosecutors said Friday. Federal prosecutors charged 39-year-old Christopher Parris with wire fraud, alleging he tried to get the department to order 125 million face masks and other personal protective equipment.

In the complaint, the prosecutors alleged Parris promised to obtain millions of 3M masks from domestic factories when he knew that fulfilling the orders would not be possible. 3M, based in Minnesota, produces surgical masks and respirators that have been in high demand since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis.

Parris also allegedly made similar promises in an effort to enter into agreements to sell PPE to state governments, according to federal prosecutors.

If convicted of the wire fraud charge, Parris faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

“We will vigorously pursue fraudsters who exploit the COVID-19 pandemic to make money,” U.S. Attorney General William Barr said Friday in a statement. “COVID-19 scams divert government time and resources and risk preventing front-line responders and consumers from obtaining the equipment they need to combat this pandemic."

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After his arrest, Parris appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan J. Baverman in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, where he was ordered detained. Parris is awaiting extradition to the District of Columbia.

The charges come almost three months after Parris faced charges in a separate case. In January, Parris was charged by federal prosecutors with fraud, conspiracy and related charges in what officials described as a Ponzi scheme that defrauded about 1,000 investors of at least $115 million over 10 years ending in 2018.

Prosecutors said the scheme involved Parris and a partner doing business as Lucian Development, in Rochester, New York, offering unsecured promissory notes and preferred stock issued by various entities that they controlled. The case is pending.

In Friday's complaint, federal prosecutors said Parris allegedly claimed to act as a supplier who could quickly obtain the personal protective equipment and supplies. The offer to Veterans Affairs came from a person at a Louisiana-based company who said it sells industrial safety supplies and identified Parris and his company, Encore Health Group, as one of its suppliers, according to an affidavit in the complaint.

When the offer was made in late March, the person said the N95 masks proposed for sale to the department would be made at plants in California and Illinois. However, a lawyer for the company said it does not manufacture masks at those sites, according to the affidavit.

Parris was revealed as the source of the company’s misrepresentations, according to court documents. The authorities did not identify the Louisiana company or the people working there.

Also, Parris on April 1 attempted to contact Veterans Affairs, claiming he was referred by the Louisiana-based company and representing Encore Health, according to the affidavit. He said that Encore Health “has the ability to produce materials in one to two weeks” and that it buys directly from 3M and other suppliers.

According to the complaint, a lawyer for 3M said that Encore Health is not one of its partners and that “upon review of 3M’s databases,” 3M does not sell N95 Masks to Parris or Encore Health.

The public is urged to report suspected fraud schemes related to the coronavirus by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud hotline at 866-720-5721 or by e-mailing the NCDF at disaster@leo.gov.

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