The US Justice Department sued a Chinese firm for trading nearly a half-million fake and poor quality N95 Masks to US buyers in April as the COVID-19 pandemic swept the country.
In an accusation listed in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, the department said Guangdong-based King Year Packaging and Printing shipped three lots of purported N95 masks, needed to protect medical and other personnel from the coronavirus, to US buyers.
The company falsely declared the 495,200 masks it shipped were met the N95 standard and also falsely claimed they were approved by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), according to the complaint.
The accusation indicated the importer of the masks paid more than $1 million for them.
The Chinese company was filled with four counts of importing misbranded and substandard health commodities and making false to the US Food and Drug Administration.
Each charge provides a maximum fine of $500,000, or if greater, twice what the company earned in selling the masks.
