The defendants failed to fulfill their promise. In fact, it took them weeks to ship products to consumers. They also failed to inform consumers about the delay.
Complaints against American Screening
In the lawsuit against American Screening, the FTC alleged that the company and its operator Shawn Kilgarlin promised on its website that they could ship PPE in bulk within 24 to 48 hours to local governments, hospitals, and nursing homes.
Similar to the other defendants, American Screening and Kilgarlin failed to ship the products as promised to consumers.
In a statement, FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Andrew Smith said, “When online merchants lie about the availability of personal protective equipment or about the ability of products to prevent and treat COVID-19, it’s a significant safety concern, and it’s illegal. The FTC will take aggressive action to stop such troubling conduct.”
The lawsuits were part of FTC’s ongoing enforcement actions against companies taking advantage of consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last month, the Commission sued SuperGoodDeals.com and its owner, Kevin Lipsitz for falsely promising next-day shipping of PPE.
