MUSKEGON, Mich. — The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California filed an indictment charging defendant Rodney L. Stevenson II with wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering for his operation of an e-commerce site claiming to have N95 masks "in stock" and ready to ship just as the COVID-19 epidemic was spreading across the nation early last year.
Stevenson, 24, of Muskegon Michigan was previously charged with one count of wire fraud in April of 2020 after investigators searched a home on Amity Avenue in Muskegon on April 27, 2020.
According to the indictment, Stevenson operated EM General, a Michigan limited liability company created in September 2019, which purported to sell N95 masks for as much as $24.95 each.
The indictment alleges that as the pandemic worsened and the demand for N95 masks increased, EM General’s sales skyrocketed including one day in February 2020 with over $900,000 in sales.
According to the indictment, EM General’s total sales in February and March of last year were approximately $3.5 million, involving over 25,000 customers who made payments with credit cards or PayPal accounts.
Federal prosecutors allege to bolster the legitimacy of EM General, Stevenson created a professional-looking website that included the names, back stories, and stock photographs of a group of fake EM General executives and falsely described how long the company had been in business.
Stevenson is charged with nine counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud and five counts of laundering of monetary instruments.
If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The case is being prosecuted by the Special Prosecutions Section the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California.
A representative of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California told 13 ON YOUR SIDE no additional information on the "open case" would be provided.
Stevenson's next court hearing is scheduled for May 5, 2021.
Call to Stevenson for comment were not returned, his father tells 13 ON YOUR SIDE his son's attorney will decide what if any public statements are made about the previous and additional charges.
Stevenson has been given a court-appointed attorney and released on a $100,000 unsecured bond.
Bond conditions require him to remain in the Western District of Michigan or the Northern District of California and surrender his passport.
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