From the Liveblog of
Thursday, April 30, 2020
Israeli said to con NY State out of $69m on promise to supply ventilators
An Israeli man living in the United States has reportedly duped New York State out of $69 million after promising to supply ventilators and then not providing them, Buzzfeed reports.
Yaron Oren-Pines, a Silicon Valley electrical engineer with no medical experience, tweeted in reply to US President Donald Trump that “we can supply ICU ventilators” and added: “Have someone call me URGENT.”
Three days later, the report says, he had signed a contract to supply New York with 1,450 ventilators at $47,656 apiece, more than triple the standard price. No ventilators ever arrived.
The report cites an unnamed state official saying the contract was signed at the direct recommendation of the White House.
The contract has now been terminated, and the state is trying to recover the money it has paid.
Oren-Pines has refused to comment on the matter.
Three days after Yaron Oren-Pines sent this reply, New York paid him $69.1 million for 1,450 ventilators — an astonishing $47,656 per ventilator. Not a single ventilator ever arrived, the state since terminated the contract, and is now trying to recover its money pic.twitter.com/NscQxXZcoC
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) April 29, 2020
