Massachusetts sues company that failed to return N95 mask money

Jul 06, 2023

By Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — The Massachusetts attorney general's office has sued a company it alleges failed to reimburse the state nearly $3.5 million for hundreds of thousands of N95 masks it failed to deliver as promised early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the suit filed Monday in Suffolk Superior Court, instead of repaying the state, the owners of Bedrock Group LLC spent some company money on themselves and their families for trips to casinos, furniture and meal delivery services.

"During the height of the pandemic, when the country was facing a shortage of N95 masks, this company and its owners took millions of dollars from Massachusetts for much-needed PPE only to enrich themselves," Attorney General Maura Healey said in a statement.

A working number for Bedrock could not be located. No defense attorneys were listed in court records. A message seeking comment was left at a company email address.

The state in April 2020 paid Bedrock nearly $3.6 million for 1 million N95 masks. Bedrock delivered only 100,000 masks and has repaid the state only $100,000 for the undelivered masks, the suit said.

In January 2021, Bedrock sent a check for $750,000 to the state, but the check bounced, the attorney general's office said.

A Bedrock owner in June 2021 blamed problems on its China-based supplier.