FEDERAL CRIMINAL LAWYERS

NJ PPE Procurement Fraud Attorney Lawyers

In the midst of the current COVID-19 pandemic, numerous hospitals have been overwhelmed by the number of patients needing care. As a result, the many doctors, nurses, and other staff at these hospitals have been in need of as much personal protective equipment (PPE) as possible, such as face masks, gloves, respirator masks, and other related items. Unfortunately, many people have chosen to take advantage of this situation by inventing fraudulent schemes regarding PPE. With the FBI and Department of Justice becoming heavily involved in pursuing companies they believe may be committing PPE procurement fraud, you may find facing such allegations or even being charged with PPE procurement fraud. If so, you should take the allegations very seriously and consult with PPE procurement fraud lawyers as quickly as possible.

Intense Scrutiny of Companies
With the seriousness of the pandemic, the DOJ and FBI have pledged to vigorously pursue any company they feel may be trying to profit from PPE procurement fraud. Thus, even if your company has been doing everything by the book for decades, you will suddenly find yourself facing much greater scrutiny from government agencies. Unfortunately, even if your company unintentionally does something that may incorrectly be construed as fraud, you will have federal investigators asking plenty of questions and making one allegation after another against you and your company. If this happens, do not hesitate to hire New Jersey PPE procurement fraud attorneys to represent you and your company.

What is PPE Procurement Fraud?
Under federal law, PPE procurement fraud can take many forms. For example, if your company collected payment for PPE that was ultimately never delivered to your customer, fraud allegations may be levied against you. Also, if you are alleged to have sold PPE equipment that was of lesser quality than your customers believed, this also constitutes fraud. Other examples can include price gouging, making false claims to secure a PPE contract with a customer, or selling PPE that does not provide the levels of protection promoted in your advertising materials. Ultimately, all these can be reasons for federal prosecutors to charge your company with PPE procurement fraud. Once these charges are brought against you or you believe these charges will be on the way shortly, don’t procrastinate and simply hope the federal government changes its mind about your company. To get a head start on having a sound legal strategy in place, contact New Jersey PPE procurement fraud lawyers for a consultation.

Civil and Criminal Penalties
Since the FBI and DOJ are taking allegations of PPE procurement fraud so seriously at the moment, it is a good bet major civil and criminal penalties could be brought against your company if convicted of this crime. If your company’s PPE fraud was viewed as being on a large scale, you could face fines of thousands or even millions of dollars. If criminal charges are brought against you and your company, expect to pay millions of dollars in fines and also face the possibility you could be sent to prison for a minimum of five years. When hearing of these potential penalties, you may initially panic and assume all is lost. However, that is not true. By hiring experienced legal counsel who has handled these types of cases in the past and understands the process federal investigators and prosecutors use in building such cases, your New Jersey PPE procurement fraud lawyers can show the evidence against you is at best circumstantial, setting the stage for a successful conclusion to your case.

Innocent Mistakes and Devastating Results
Since there has been such a high demand for PPE and companies have been struggling to keep up with the demand, it is easy to see how innocent mistakes could have been made at your company. With employees having to work from home, various employees having to come and go due to the pandemic, and many other factors at play, companies like yours have simply had to do everything possible to keep from closing your doors permanently. However, this does not mean you knowingly and willfully committed PPE procurement fraud along the way. From having problems with deliveries being made as scheduled, making arrangements for payments, and so many other factors now being made harder than ever, you will need an attorney on your side who can point this out in court and use available evidence to show your company had no intention of defrauding any customers.

Should you and your company be charged with PPE procurement fraud, expect federal prosecutors to pursue your case vigorously in an effort to send a message to others. Rather than let the federal government ruin your business and possibly send you to prison, consult with New Jersey PPE procurement fraud attorneys and start planning a legal strategy that will let you emerge victorious.