MUSKEGON, Mich. — Rodney Stevenson II, 24, of Muskegon is charged with wire fraud by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California, according to information released by the U.S.Department of Justice.
Neighbors say investigators arrested Stevenson Tuesday morning at a home on Amity Avenue. Court records show Stevenson was arraigned on the charge in the U.S. District Court of Western Michigan in Grand Rapids on April 28.
The charge is punishable by up to 30 years in prison, if Stevenson is convicted. He was given a court-appointed attorney and released on a $25,000 unsecured bond. Conditions of bond include that he remain in the Western District of Michigan or the Northern District of California.
Business license records at Muskegon City Hall do not show a license for EM General, the company investigators say Stevenson created to sell N95 masks.
Portions of the company's website are no longer available. A message posted on the home page blames shipping delays on supply chain interruptions.
Attempts to reach Stevenson at the Amity home were unsuccessful.
Investigators says they've collected multiple accounts of customers paying EM General for masks that were never delivered including a hospital employee in California.
"What's described in the complaint is a consumer nightmare, of fake web pages and false promises," said US Attorney for the Northern District of California, David Anderson.
EM General has an 'F' rating with the Better Business Bureau® (BBB), due in large part to the more than 180 complaints from across the country since March 9, 2020.
The complaint against Stevenson alleges he mislead customers and falsely claimed to have N95 masks in stock.
Stevenson has a preliminary hearing set for May 18.
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