Joshua S. Levy, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts
A California company, Advoque Safeguard LLC (ASG), along with its owners and managers, pleaded guilty to charges related to the sale of misbranded facemasks during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The masks were falsely labeled as N95 respirators, according to federal authorities.
The company admitted guilt to one count of conspiracy to introduce misbranded devices into interstate commerce with intent to defraud or mislead. Jason Azevedo from Cedar Creek, Texas; Paul Shrater from Simi Valley, California; and Andrew Stack from Santa Cruz, California also pleaded guilty to introducing misbranded devices into interstate commerce. U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun has set sentencing for June 11, 2025.
In a related development in October 2024, another company involved in the investigation, JDM Supply LLC (JDM), along with Daniel Motha and Jeffrey Motha, also entered guilty pleas. Additionally, Jason Colantuoni pleaded guilty in August 2023 to conspiracy to commit price gouging and is awaiting sentencing.
During spring 2020, ASG and JDM collaborated to distribute facemasks mislabeled as National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-approved N95 respirators. One hospital identified as "HOSPITAL 1" purchased these masks but did not use them after discovering they were not NIOSH-approved. Tests conducted by a NIOSH lab revealed that the masks had a filtration efficiency between 83.94% and 93.24%, below the required 95% for N95 respirators.
The charge of conspiracy carries potential penalties including a fine up to $500,000 or twice the financial gain or loss from the offense and up to five years of probation. The charge for introducing a misbranded device can result in up to one year in prison, supervised release for one year, and a fine up to $100,000.
The announcement was made by several officials including United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ketty Larco-Ward from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Fernando McMillan from the FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations; Christopher Algieri from the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General; Jodi Cohen from the FBI's Boston Division; and Michael J. Krol from Homeland Security Investigations in New England.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bill Brady and Howard Locker are prosecuting this case as part of efforts led by the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force established on May 17, 2021. This task force aims to combat pandemic-related fraud by coordinating resources across government agencies.
For more information on pandemic response efforts or if you have information about COVID-19 fraud attempts, visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus or contact the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline.
