AIME USA, a Florida-based medical supplies manufacturer and distributor, is countersuing 3M, parent company of Top 40 promo products supplier 3M/Promotional Markets (asi/91240), in a legal battle embroiled in allegations of everything from personal protective equipment fraud to attempts to monopolize the respirator market amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Maplewood, MN-headquartered 3M originally sued AIME in July in the U.S. District Court Western District of Washington, alleging that the firm was falsely claiming to represent 3M and using the 3M name and trademark to perpetrate a fraudulent scheme centered on sales of N95 masks. 3M’s N95 respirator masks have experienced unprecedented demand during the coronavirus outbreak.

“Specifically, defendants (AIME) have marketed themselves to their potential customers, including hospitals, first responders, government entities, and other healthcare providers, as having access to millions of 3M N95 respirators, which they do not possess, and attempting to sell these respirators to customers by asserting a close relationship with and direct access to 3M, which they do not have,” the 3M suit alleges.

3M continued: “Defendants have sought millions in dollars of payments from their potential victims. Defendants created misleading paperwork that misrepresented the purchase process for 3M respirators and falsely claimed that 3M was involved in the transaction.”

Mike Roman, CEO, 3M

AIME called the claims bogus and said the suit is an “egregious … ill-intended” attempt to put the company out of business. AIME principals maintain that 3M sued them as part of a broader “ulterior purpose of eliminating competition by weaponizing the U.S. legal system, thereby allowing it to monopolize the respirator market” and to “control the PPE market sector.”

AIME USA says it brings American manufacturing and technology to critical PPE supplies. 3M’s lawsuit has hurt the firm’s reputation and is making it difficult to conduct business, the company asserts in its countersuit.

“U.S. Antitrust Laws exist to preserve free and unfettered competition as a rule of trade and to protect consumers from predatory business practices,” said Sandro Monteblanco, general counsel for AIME. “We believe that the numerous similar lawsuits filed by 3M represent a clear attempt to intimidate and even restrict competitively-priced, quality PPE supplies from being manufactured in the United States and entering the American market.”

That’s not how 3M sees it. The company says it has been aggressive in filing suits to stop fraudsters from exploiting demand for its N95 masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. 3M says those efforts led to stopping a $14 billion N95 fraud. The corporation recently intensified its crackdown on purported fraud.

3M is also among the companies that has partnered with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to stem the flow of counterfeit face masks, coronavirus tests and other PPE equipment/medical supplies into the U.S.

With estimated 2019 North American promotional product revenue of $88.4 million, 3M/Promotional Markets ranked 17th on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest suppliers in the industry.