Agents seized more than 280K masks in Ocean Springs raid amid COVID-19 pandemic, FBI says
A pharmaceutical company owned by Ocean Springs developer Kenneth Ritchey is accused in a federal court case of hoarding scarce personal protective equipment needed during the COVID-19 pandemic, with federal agents recovering a trove of respirator masks, face shields, gloves and other items from the business.
FBI agents raided Gulf Coast Pharmaceuticals Plus LLC on North Halstead Road on April 17, but Southern District U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst declined then to comment on the investigation.
Ritchey is a former business partner of Clark Levi, a pharmacist who owned Lovelace Drugs in downtown Ocean Springs before he died in a car crash with his wife.
No charges have been filed against Ritchey. But the search warrant has been unsealed in U.S. District Court, where most other records in the case remain sealed. U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Walker issued the warrant April 15, based on probable cause agents established in a sworn statement still under seal.
The warrant allowed a search of three buildings on Gulf Coast Pharmaceuticals Plus property, including any items belonging to Ritchey or his wife, Debra, or any other current or former owner or representative of the company.
The raid turned up what agents were looking for, according to an inventory of what they seized. The warrant says the items were being held at the business in violation of a federal law that prohibits hoarding of scare personal protective equipment needed in health-care settings to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Federal agents confiscated the PPE and took it away in a UHaul truck, according to the warrant.
The items below were listed as seized:
- 6,535 N-95 masks
- 8,950 KN-95 masks
- 281,479 surgical and miscellaneous masks
- 22,400 shoe covers
- 21,850 gloves
- 4,295 gowns
- 170 lab coats and coveralls
- 166 face shield goggles
It is not known where all the seized equipment is currently.
So far, records do not say whether an arrest has been made for the federal offense, which is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $10,000 fine.
Ritchey’s attorney, Erich Nichols, said Friday that he and his client are working with the government to sort everything out.
“He’s (Ritchey) been in business for almost 20 years,” Nichols said. “He’s a wholesale distributor of pharmaceuticals, medical supplies and other equipment. We do not believe he broke the law doing what he did, and we are working with the government to ensure that they know that.”
Some of the PPE stock, he said, had just come in and was set to go out to customers when the raid happened.
“I think the government will see he was not violating this regulation,” Nichols said. “Even locally, he has donated hundreds, if not thousands, of PPE to Singing River (Health System) and Memorial (Hospital at Gulfport) to help out with the local medical matters.”
The federal charge accuses offenders of hoarding scarce material as defined by the president to, in part, prevent resale at inflated prices. President Donald Trump, has defined PPE as scarce materials during the COVID-19 pandemic.
PPE has at times been scarce in health-care settings where it is used to prevent spread of infection.
Other raids
Ken Ritchey has ties with others who have been subject to federal raids in recent years.
In October 2019, FBI agents raided Lovelace Drugs in downtown Ocean Springs as part of an ongoing investigation into the sale of compound pharmaceuticals.
Ritchey had worked with Levi through another business, Alvix Laboratories LLC in Ocean Springs.
In the last year, Ritchey sued Levi for $10 million after Levi bought out his partners in Alvix, including Ritchey.
In the suit, Ritchey claimed that, after the buyout, Levi hid Alvix profits through shell companies to avoid his contractual obligation to share those profits with Ritchey. A settlement has been worked out in the case but is not yet signed, according to the court file.
This story was originally published May 15, 2020 at 9:06 AM.
