Chinese firm sued by US over half-million ‘fake’ N95 masks
US President Donald Trump (L) and China's President Xi Jinping leave a business leaders event at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 9, 2017. Donald Trump urged Chinese leader Xi Jinping to work "hard" and act fast to help resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis, during their meeting in Beijing on November 9, warning that "time is quickly running out". / AFP PHOTO / Nicolas ASFOURI (Photo credit should read NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP via Getty Images)
The power struggle between the United State of America and China is becoming a stream of fights that recently had the US Department sue a Chinese Company for selling fake and substandard N95 respirators in April that worth half a million to US unsuspected buyers.
The unsuspected buyers rushed the N95 respirator in order to help themselves since the COVID-19 (C19) pandemic ravaged the country. The Federal Court in Brooklyn in a complaint filed against the Chinese company, New York, the department said Guandong-based King Year Packaging and Printing shipped three batches of purported N95 masks, needed for the protection of medical and several other personnel from the coronavirus, to US unsuspected buyers.
The department alleged that the company falsely claimed that 495,200 masks shipped into the country met the N95 standard and that the company also falsely claimed that the products were certified by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), as complained.
Also, the complaint indicated that the importer of the fake N95 masks paid more than $1million for the product.
Meanwhile, “The charges alleged in this complaint showed a blatant disregard for the safety of American citizens,” Douglas Korneski, the FBI Agent who investigated the masks deal said in a statement.
“Had it not been for the actions of the investigative team, this defendant would have put first responders, hospital employees, and other front line workers directly in harm’s way with faulty equipment just to make a buck.”
The Chinese company was charged with four counts of importing misbranded and substandard health products and making false to the US Food and Drug Administration. Each charge carries a maximum fine of $500,000, or if greater, twice what the company earned in selling the masks.
Ayooluwa Joshua