University of Pittsburgh official pleads guilty to stealing 13,000 masks to sell online
The former head of emergency management at the University of Pittsburgh admitted Wednesday that he stole more than 13,000 masks from Pitt and sold them on eBay for his own profit. Christopher Casamento, 42, pleaded guilty in federal court to a count of interstate transportation of stolen property and became a federal felon. He was indicted in March 2021 after an investigation by the FBI.
As head of emergency management, Casamento had access to Pitt’s supply of protective equipment, including N95 masks and surgical face masks that were intended for use by students and employees. But from Feb. 28-March 22, 2020, Casamento stole over 13,000 of those masks from Pitt’s supplies, sold them on his eBay vendor page and shipped them to buyers outside Pennsylvania. He brought in more than $18,000 from the scheme, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Melucci.
Melucci said the investigation began in April 2020, when PayPal noticed unusual activity involving the eBay account and alerted the Pittsburgh FBI. Melucci said agents determined that Casamento controlled the eBay account and was selling stolen masks at inflated prices.
The FBI determined that Casamento stole 13,615 masks and sold them for $18,783.
In one instance, he sold 10 masks for $110. The same masks sold at a retail cost of $29.
Pitt confronted Casamento about what he was doing and fired him in July 2020.
https://www.pennlive.com/coronavirus/2022/02/ex-pitt-official-pleads-guilty-to-stealing-13000-masks-to-sell-online.html
