A California company and three of its employees have been sentenced for their roles in a scheme to sell misbranded N95 masks to a hospital during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an announcement from federal authorities.
Advoque Safeguard LLC received a sentence of one year probation and was ordered to pay a $700,000 fine. Company owners and managers Jason Azevedo, 34, of Cedar Creek, Texas, and Andrew Stack, 53, of Santa Cruz, California, were each sentenced to one year probation and fined $100,000. Paul Shrater, 52, of Simi Valley, California, was sentenced to six months probation with a $100,000 fine.
In October 2024, Advoque Safeguard pleaded guilty to conspiracy to introduce misbranded devices into interstate commerce with intent to defraud or mislead. Azevedo, Shrater and Stack also pleaded guilty to introducing misbranded devices into interstate commerce.
Another company involved in the case is JDM Supply LLC (JDM). In April 2025, JDM and two individuals—Daniel Motha and Jeffrey Motha—pleaded guilty and were each sentenced to one year probation with fines of $9,500. Jason Colantuoni also pleaded guilty in connection with price gouging and was sentenced in July 2025 to time served plus a $3,000 fine.
The case stems from actions taken in spring 2020 when Advoque Safeguard (ASG) and JDM conspired to ship facemasks falsely labeled as National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-approved N95 respirators. One hospital purchased hundreds of thousands of these masks believing they met NIOSH standards. The hospital did not use the masks after discovering they were not genuine N95s; the products were eventually returned.
Testing by a NIOSH laboratory in August 2020 found that all ten ASG mask samples failed to meet the required filtration efficiency for N95 respirators. The tested masks filtered between 83.94% and 93.24%, below the minimum standard of 95%.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley stated: “United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division; Fernando McMillan, Special Agent in Charge of the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations; Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today.” Assistant U.S. Attorney Mackenzie Queenin prosecuted the case.
