ATLANTA, Ga. — Christopher Parris has been arrested after attempting a multimillion scam against the Department of Veterans Affairs. The 39-year-old claimed to have access to millions of genuine 3M face masks and other professional-grade personal protection equipment (PPE).

Parris would have potentially seen a profit of $750 million if he would have succeeded in his scam. Parris appeared before Chief United States Magistrate Judge Alan J. Baverman in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and will be extradited to the District of Columbia.

Authorities are vigorously pursuing those who are using COVID-19 as a tool exploitation as a means to make money.

Attorney General William Barr had this to say about the increase of scams surrounding the coronavirus and this case, “COVID-19 scams divert government time and resources and risk preventing front-line responders and consumers from obtaining the equipment they need to combat this pandemic.  The Department of Justice will not tolerate this conduct, especially when it involves this kind of egregious attempt to target and defraud our nation’s treasures – our veterans.”

“We are committed to protecting the integrity of taxpayer funds and ensuring the delivery of medical supplies necessary to provide quality healthcare to our nation’s veterans, and any attempt to exploit the current global COVID-19 pandemic for personal gain will be dealt with swiftly,” said Inspector General Michael J. Missal for the Department of Veterans Affairs.  “Today’s charges are the direct result of the expeditious and tireless efforts of special agents of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, working in tandem with our law enforcement partners at the Department of Justice and Homeland Security Investigations.”

The public is urged to report suspected fraud schemes related to COVID-19 (the Coronavirus) by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) hotline (1-866-720-5721) or by e-mailing the NCDF at disaster@leo.gov.