At the onset of the pandemic, medical supplies from face masks to respirators were in short supply. In March 2020, the World Health Organization estimated that “industry must increase manufacturing by 40%” to satisfy need across the globe.
To meet that demand in the U.S., the Trump administration spared no expense, sometimes without due diligence. Within two months of the pandemic, the federal government doled out over $1 billion to companies with no history as government contractors.
Some of those contracts proved to be rife with fraud. One man, for example, won a $34.5 million deal and didn’t provide a single mask. Another company was given $10 million to produce test tubes that turned out to be mini soda bottles.
Reporter and author J. David McSwane joins us to discuss how a handful of profiteers took advantage of a dark moment to line their pockets.
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J. David McSwane, reporter for ProPublica and author of "Pandemic, Inc.: Chasing the Capitalists and Thieves Who Got Rich While We Got Sick"
