3M testified to a United States Senate Subcommittee about actions the company has taken to fight fraud, price gouging and counterfeiting of personal protective equipment to help protect lives during the pandemic.
Kevin Rhodes, 3M Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, appeared at a hearing of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Rhodes shared lessons learned from 3M’s ongoing collaboration with government and law enforcement to stop those exploiting the demand for critical 3M products during a pandemic.
“3M appreciates the opportunity to testify about the actions we have taken to fight fraud, price-gouging and counterfeiting during the pandemic. We will continue to collaborate with government, law enforcement and retailers to help protect Americans and the integrity of the supply chain from counterfeit personal protective equipment. Those unlawfully exploiting the demand for critically-needed products during the pandemic are offering fake products with no regard for safety of those who need them. The nurses, doctors and frontline workers who put their lives on the line for others each day deserve genuine 3M N95 respirators at a fair price.” said Kevin Rhodes, 3M Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal emphasized the importance of these efforts and the need for healthcare workers and other first responders to have access to genuine PPE products during the hearing.
“In protective equipment, we’ve seen similar types of scams. Real [gesturing to an authentic 3M™ Health Care Particulate Respirator and Surgical Mask 1860 respirator] and fake [gesturing to a counterfeit] protective equipment, which endangers lives,” Blumenthal said. “It literally puts lives at risk because the fake 3M devices are no substitute for the real ones.”
Video of the hearing can be viewed here. For more information about 3M’s resources to fight counterfeiting please visit our website, www.3m.com/covidfraud.
