Scammers attempting to bilk hospitals during trying times

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    SHREVEPORT, La. (KTBS) — Health care workers battling the COVID-19 pandemic on the front line rely on personal protective equipment (PPE) to remain healthy. As supplies of PPE like masks, gloves and isolation gowns dwindle and demand surges, scammers are looking to take advantage of that.

The FBI issued a warning Friday to all health care providers to watch for signs of fraudulent medical equipment sales.

“Based on the current stress on the supply chain, scammers may promise equipment they do not have access to in order to capitalize on the medical community’s urgent needs,” read a press release from the federal law enforcement agency.

According to the release, health care providers should be on the lookout for suspicious activity including unusual payment terms, last-minute price changes and excuses to delay a shipment, and an unexplained source of bulk supply.

Brian Crawford, chief administrative officer of Willis-Knighton Health System in Shreveport, said he has seen each of those warning signs from prospective vendors since the coronavirus crisis began to take hold.

“It’s a disgrace, is what it is,” Crawford said. “Everybody knows a guy, who knows a guy, who knows a guy, who can set you up with N-95 masks or isolation gowns or gloves, goggles— something that you need. We’ve been contacted by people named Bubba in south Alabama, to people named Dino Eduardo in South America, China, Indonesia, you name it.”

According to Crawford, the scammers are relatively easy to spot. He said they like to offer speedy delivery in exchange for payment upfront.

“Usually if you press them on it — say, ‘We’re willing to go pick it up if it’s going to take this long.’ (They say,) ‘Oh, no, no, no. You can’t pick it up. We need to send it to you,’” Crawford said.

While markups are typical from legitimate suppliers during times of high demand, Crawford said some of the offers have been “disheartening.”

“Normally what I would pay $50,000 for, he wanted half a million dollars for. That’s a thousand-percent markup,” Crawford said, adding that the real cost comes to those who are working on the front lines.

“That’s putting a price on our healthcare providers’ safety. That’s putting a price on first responders that are out on the street, the fire, the police, the paramedics,” Crawford said. “It’s basically holding their safety hostage to the highest bidder.”

Crawford said he continues to report all suspicious behavior to the FBI, while working with state officials and Louisiana’s congressional delegation to keep supplies coming in from legitimate sources.

“We know of no attempts at scamming our system,” said Tina Martinez, a spokesperson for Ochsner LSU Health-Shreveport, attributing the information to the head of the hospital’s supply chain. “We do have a stringent process in order to qualify a vendor. All vendor information is reviewed on multiple levels.”

When asked whether scammers had reached out to the CHRISTUS Health system, spokesman William Knous did not answer on the record.

David Joseph, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, announced Tuesday the formation of a task force designed to investigate and prosecute fraud and hoarding related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Through the formation of this Task Force, federal prosecutors from my office will collaborate on a daily basis with investigators to identify, investigate, and aggressively prosecute those attempting to profit from this emergency,” Joseph said in a press release.

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