Federal authorities charge Santa Rosa attorney with conspiring to sell medical masks at inflated prices

Federal authorities in New York have charged a Santa Rosa attorney with conspiring to sell one million protective masks in short supply during the coronavirus pandemic at a steep markup, in violation of the Defense Production Act invoked by President Donald Trump.

Kent Bulloch, 56, of Santa Rosa, and William Young Sr., 64, of Arizona, are accused in a criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday in Brooklyn of attempting to sell the masks at prices inflated by as much as 50%, according to a complaint filed by federal prosecutors in New York. Bulloch was arrested in Santa Rosa on Monday night.

“As alleged, the defendants conspired to turn a huge profit from the urgent need for surgical masks in New York during the pandemic,” Richard Donoghue, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement.

Trump’s executive order on March 18 in response to the pandemic makes it illegal to acquire medical supplies designated as scarce by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services with the intent to hoard or sell for excessive prices.

Bulloch and Young allegedly sought investors to sell one million KN95 respirator masks at double or triple their purchase price, according to the complaint. Bulloch allegedly tried to conceal the markup and the scheme by creating an escrow agreement that falsely stated the profits would not exceed the federal limit of 10%, according to the complaint.

However, one of the investors targeted by the pair was an undercover federal agent, federal prosecutors said.

Bulloch, whose law office is in downtown Santa Rosa, specializes in family law, wills and trusts, as well as bankruptcies, according to his website. He did not return a reporter’s calls or reply to emails Wednesday.

According to the complaint, the men are accused of touting having access to millions of the masks in warehouses in Los Angeles, Rancho Cucamonga and El Monte, conspiring to sell them and then drawing up documents to cover up the inflated prices.

“The thing is that we don’t want any red flags for you, because the truth is that, um, any red flags for you, will be red flags for us,” Bulloch allegedly told the undercover federal agent, according to the complaint. “I don’t look good in orange. I got nice pinkish skin. ... I don’t need orange to clash with it.”

If convicted, Bulloch and Young of Phoenix could face up to a year in prison.

The arrests came just days after another man, Amardeep Singh of Long Island, New York, was the first person in the nation charged with price gouging related to the global pandemic. Singh is accused of stockpiling gloves and masks and other highly coveted items with plans to sell them at a steep markup.

You can reach Staff Writer Kerry Benefield at 707-526-8671 or kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.com, on Twitter @benefield and on Instagram at kerry.benefield.