Authorities say that a 39-year-old Scottsdale, AZ, man conned a Texas philanthropist in a $16.65 million swindle centered on nonexistent facemasks that the alleged scammer purported to be from 3M, the parent company of Top 40 promotional products supplier 3M/Promotional Markets (asi/91240).

Now, the accused, Dale L. Hipes, faces federal criminal charges of wire fraud and money laundering.

Identified by authorities as the CEO of BRI Supply Inc., Hipes allegedly told a philanthropist in Texas that he could procure 3M masks, which have been in high demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. The victim, who was interested in obtaining the masks for the state of Texas, wired Hipes $16.65 million to purchase nine million masks.

Hipes, however, was not an authorized 3M dealer, didn’t have access to the masks and never provided any, authorities maintain. The victim soon demanded his money back. Hipes returned $12 million, but pocketed the rest, making purchases that included a 2020 Kawasaki utility vehicle, according to authorities. Hipes also broke off communication with the philanthropist.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Phoenix Field Office began investigating and charges were ultimately brought against Hipes.

“It’s truly reprehensible that someone would misrepresent themselves and promise to provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) during a pandemic, then take millions of the fraudulently obtained money and use it for their own personal gain,” said Sean Kaul, special agent in charge of the FBI Phoenix Field Office. “It is also not lost on us that this act is deliberately contrary to the actions of the philanthropist who fronted the money to the State of Texas in the first place. We want to thank 3M for their assistance and cooperation with this investigation as well as the United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona.”

If convicted, Hipes faces a maximum of 30 years in jail and $500,000 in fines. Rarely, however, is the maximum sentence applied in such cases.

In an unrelated COVID-19 fraud case, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in for Arizona has also charged four people with allegedly defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

Celestine Coletta Strong, 44, of Phoenix; Jawuan Polk, 35, of Portland, OR; Patrick Earl Lewis, 45, residence unknown; and Ty’zhaun Marqui Lewis, 23, of Phoenix face charges that include conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering.

According to a criminal complaint, the four conspired to submit loan applications with falsified employee and wage information, fake bank statements, and other false information in an attempt to obtain 15 different loans totaling more than $3.5 million in loan proceeds. They fraudulently obtained approximately $450,000 in proceeds before the scheme was interrupted, authorities assert. Some of the proceeds were reportedly used to purchase a luxury Mercedes E400, which was also seized.

“Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) along with our government and private sector partners are committed to protecting the American public against those who willingly attempt to defraud the government for financial gain,” said Scott Brown, special agent in charge for the HSI Phoenix Office. “We will continue to use our broad legal authorities and longstanding partnerships to disrupt, investigate and bring to justice those who seek to exploit and benefit from the COVID-19 pandemic.”