A Texas man has pleaded guilty to involvement in a scheme to fraudulently sell 50 million N95 respirator masks he did not have for $317.6 million to the government of New South Wales in Australia, U.S. prosecutors said. Arael Doolittle entered his plea to a wire fraud conspiracy charge on Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes in Houston. Prosecutors said Doolittle and co-defendant Paschal Eleanya tried to sell 3M-branded masks at five times the list price, hoping to collect up $275 million with the rest going to their “broker” and to representatives of New South Wales’ government. The U.S. Secret Service broke up the transaction before it was completed, an indictment last November said. Doolittle, of Houston, faces up to five years in prison at his scheduled Oct. 25 sentencing, and will remain in custody until then. Kevin Cobb, a federal public defender representing Doolittle, declined to comment on …
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