MUSKEGON COUNTY, Mich. — A Muskegon County man has been found guilty on six counts of wire fraud and four counts of laundering of monetary instruments by a federal jury in California. The Muskegon County man is Rodney Stevenson Jr.
According to the Better Business Bureau, the conviction stems from sales of N95 masks through Stevenson’s online company, EM General, which were never delivered to customers.
Stevenson claimed to have N95 masks in stock, and that they would be shipped from the United States. However, Stevenson was actually running a dropship company. The company would instead take orders from customers, and then order the needed products from overseas and have them shipped to the customer.
Although the masks became unavailable due to high demand, Stevenson continued to sell them online. He also used a fictitious name, made excuses for the delay, and strung customers along instead of issuing refunds as consumers demanded.
In March 2020, the Better Business Bureau began receiving complains about unfilled orders. The organization then began working with both state and federal law enforcement officials, which led to a federal indictment in Northern California in January 2021. So far, about 400 complaints from consumers have been filed with the Better Business Bureau.
The federal jury in northern California also found Stevenson guilty on an additional charge of engaging in monetary transactions with proceeds of unlawful activity.
“This case is an example of how consumers, the Better Business Bureau, and law enforcement can work together to combat fraud in the marketplace,” said Lisa Frohnapfel, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau in Western Michigan. “We would like to thank the customers who came forward with their complaints, and our partners in law enforcement who helped not only stop the fraud from continuing, but brought justice to those consumers who were deceived.”
