Coughing on a FBI agent during a time of pandemic apparently equates to jail time.
The 43-year old Brooklyn man, Baruch Feldheim, had an incident with the FBI that took place Monday where he claimed to have the coronavirus.
FBI agents reportedly went to Feldheim’s property to discuss his alleged business of selling much-needed medical equipment such as disinfectants, surgical masks, and medical gowns to healthcare workers at extremely inflated prices. The FBI informed Feldheim about an alleged transaction that took place on March 18 where Feldheim supposedly sold 1,000 masks for $12,000 to a New Jersey doctor. The doctor, who chooses to remain unidentified, met with Feldheim at an auto repair shop in Irvington, NJ to make the transaction where he claims to have seen the suspect with a large quantity of medical supplies that could “outfit an entire hospital.”
Authorities also claim that on March 25, Feldheim received a large shipment of face masks from Canada and found an empty box of N95 masks outside of his home two days later. Continuing to investigate the suspect, authorities reported to have seen multiple “buyers” go into Feldheim’s residence and leave full-handed with boxes, which appeared to be full of medical supplies. Finally, the agents approached the man on March 29, taking the necessary precautions of keeping their distance, due to the Coronavirus.
The U.S. Attorney’s office provided a vivid description of what happened during the incident. "When the agents were within four to five feet of him, Feldheim allegedly coughed in their direction without covering his mouth. The agents then told him that they were looking for certain PPE materials and that they had information that Feldheim was in possession of large quantities of such materials. At that point, Feldheim told the FBI agents that he had the coronavirus."
Feldheim denied having large loads of PPE and stated he never sold medical supplies to individuals. Claiming that he worked for a company that purchased and sold personal protective equipment, Feldheim was charged with assault and making false statements to law enforcement. A maximum prison sentence of five years comes with the charges.