A Canadian con man has confessed guilt in a PPE fraud scheme that targeted businesses based in the United States and Canada.

Steven Mesrop, 29, of Richmond Hill, Ontario, has pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud and now faces a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in jail and a fine of $250,000.

Mesrop and seven others were involved in the scamming that centered on using stolen credit cards and identity information to buy personal protective equipment that they then resold at marked-up prices, according to U.S. federal investigators.

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the fraudsters bought up face masks, nitrile gloves and gowns with the stolen cards and then sought to resell to third parties that included sports teams and event venues in the U.S. and Canada, including Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Give this podcast a listen to learn about the resumed interest in PPE within the promotional products industry.

Operating from Canada, the Dominican Republic, Greece, Spain and Dubai, Mesrop and his co-conspirators also used the stolen cards to purchase event tickets.

They made use of 21 different alias email accounts and information from 52 stolen credit cards to purchase more than 1,800 tickets to Oklahoma State University athletic events. In March 2020, the conspirators also used stolen credit card information to purchase thousands of dollars’ worth of toilet paper from a paper supply company in Oklahoma City, authorities said.

This case, which is ongoing against the conspirators, is the result of an investigation by the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office, Homeland Security Investigations New York Office – El Dorado Task Force, New York City Police Department, and Irvine (California) Police Department, with assistance from Customs and Border Protection. 

The scheme is a reminder of the rampant fraud that has surrounded PPE during the pandemic and comes as interest in personal protective equipment is rising again in the promotional products industry amid a surge in cases attributed to the delta variant.