The Florida Attorney General’s Office said it is ready to investigate the state emergency management director’s allegations that distributors and brokers selling sought-after 3M masks are engaged in price gouging and outright fraud.
Jared Moskowitz raised such concerns during press briefings last week and on Twitter, saying that the state has been in constant bidding wars to get desperately needed N95 masks for health care workers on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis. The agency is often being asked to wire money to fly-by-night accounts, Moskowitz said.
“Hi @3M,” Moskowitz said recently on Twitter. “I’m your new troll. I’m the director of emergency management for the state of Florida. … Please send us N95 masks directly to our hospitals, first-responders and the state. How many brokers and distributors do we have to negotiate with only to find empty warehouses?”
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Office is willing to examine Moskowitz’s allegations about fraudulent dealings by distributors of 3M’s N95 masks, which are designed to remove 95 percent of airborne particles, according to Moody’s press secretary, Kylie Mason.
“The attorney general has personally reached out to Director Moskowitz and has asked for all relevant information he may have regarding this matter so that our office can look into this further,” Mason told the Florida Record in an email.
The Attorney General’s Office as of Friday had not received any information directly from Moskowitz, she said, though some information may have been relayed to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
“We do not have any active criminal cases involving PPEs (personal protective equipment) at this time,” Mason said. “However, depending upon the facts, our office generally does have the authority to pursue cases involving counterfeit commodities and the gray market.”
Moody is currently working with federal prosecutors stop any fraudulent activities relating to the coronavirus pandemic, she said.
The Division of Emergency Management did not immediately respond to requests for comment about whether the state has lost public funds as a result of irregularities in bidding markets for health supplies.
Moskowitz, a former Democratic state representative, was tapped by Gov. Ron DeSantis to head the nonpartisan emergency management post when the governor took office in early 2019. Different publications have noted that Moskowitz has aspirations for higher office in the state, including a congressional seat.
An attorney, Moskowitz previously worked as general counsel for AshBritt Environmental, a Deerfield Beach firm that has contracts with Florida to remove debris after hurricanes.
In his criticisms of 3M, the director has also amplified media reports that foreign governments have been the designated recipients of masks manufactured by 3M in the United States. In its press releases, 3M has said the company is trying to identify counterfeiters and price-gougers from their websites and to refer them for prosecution.