Two individuals from Birmingham have been sentenced to jail for selling unauthorized Covid-19 tests during the height of the pandemic. Ron Huss-Smickler, 41, and Steven Beckford, 39, purchased thousands of non-certified tests from the Chinese shopping website ‘Alibaba’ and sold them through their business ‘Be Corona Safe’. They misled customers by claiming that their ’15 Minute Rapid Home Self-Testing Kits’ had regulatory approval. Conversations between the two men revealed that they had planned to profit from the health crisis as early as January 2020. The fraudsters were sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court, with Huss-Smickler receiving an 18-month jail term and a 10-year disqualification from being a company director, while Beckford received a four-month suspended sentence, 100 hours of unpaid community work, and a five-year ban on directing a company.
The tests sold by Huss-Smickler and Beckford were individual kits packaged as approved for home use. They were arrested in June 2020 after the National Crime Agency (NCA) and a US Homeland Security officer purchased their illicit products on the Dark Web. Messages exchanged between the two men showed that they were aware of the illegal nature of their activities and took steps to cover their tracks. They even applied for Emergency Use Authorisation from the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency using fake documents. Despite being denied authorisation, they continued operating and changed their company name to avoid detection. The men also modified the test kits and created their own instruction manual and video on how to use them.
The discussions revealed that they were expecting to earn up to £150,000 per month and had considered increasing the price of the kits to £50. They had also researched news articles on fake PPE and profiteering from the coronavirus. The men even left business cards in various locations across the London underground in an attempt to attract further customers. Ultimately, they sold 654 kits and received orders for over 700 before being arrested.
Sarah Melo, a specialist prosecutor from the Crown Prosecution Service, stated that the defendants took advantage of public fears during the pandemic and knowingly engaged in fraudulent activities to make enormous profits. The tests sold by the fraudsters were not proven to work as advertised, yet they continued selling them without concern for the welfare of their customers. The NCA Branch Commander for the Midlands, Wales, and West region, Ty Surgeon, emphasized that these individuals were organized criminals who exploited people’s fears during a time of uncertainty and limited resources. The National Crime Agency, along with other partners, will continue to investigate and hold individuals involved in fraudulent activities during the pandemic accountable. The Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency advises individuals to report any problems or concerns with Covid-19 testing kits via the Coronavirus Yellow Card website.
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