WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - As America is distressed with the coronavirus pandemic, Homeland Security Investigations special agents arrested a Georgia man for trying to defraud the Veterans Affairs Department in a $750 million COVID-19 scam.
Christopher Parris, a 39-year-old resident of Atlanta, was arrested on Friday for attempting to sell millions of nonexistent respirator masks to the Department of Veterans Affairs in exchange for large upfront payments, the Justice Department announced.
Parris was charged with wire fraud, in one of the first major coronavirus related fraud cases brought by the Justice Department's new COVID-19 Hoarding and Price Gouging task force.
The criminal complaint, filed in federal court in the District of Columbia, alleges that he tried to secure orders from the Department of Veterans Affairs for 125 million face masks and other personal protective equipment worth more than $750 million.
The complaint alleges that Parris promised that he could obtain millions of genuine 3M masks from domestic factories knowing that he could not fulfill the orders.
Parris also allegedly made similar attempts to sign fraudulent agreements to sell PPE to state governments.
The Department of Justice said Magistrate Judge Alan J. Baverman in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ordered Parris' detention. He will be extradited to the District of Columbia.
Attorney General William Barr said DOJ will vigorously pursue fraudsters who exploit the COVID-19 pandemic to make money.
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