Dr. Mona’s Statement About Recent Events
July 12, 2023
I want you to know the entire story behind my recent agreement to plead guilty in U.S. Federal Court to a misdemeanor charge of accumulating personal protective equipment (PPE). I made the tough decision primarily to spare my son and those for whom I carry the pain and expense of fighting the allegations in a protracted trial. Doing so, however, triggered a press release that painted an incomplete narrative. I wish to correct that now.
Three years ago, my 18-year-old son Adam returned home to San Diego from college due to the pandemic. The local grocery stores were short-staffed, and my son worked on the frontlines as a bagging clerk at Ralph’s while completing college classes and exams. I kept my medical office open every day during the pandemic to ensure my patients had access to care. While working at Ralphs, my son was recruited to work for an Australian PPE company to sell mostly non-allocated, largely non-medical masks on their behalf in the U.S.
My son liked the job, and I was happy for him. I provided my son access to my wholesale medical supply accounts to purchase masks. The masks I helped my son purchase accounted for approximately 18% of those the company sold and were marked for industrial, not hospital use. Beyond purchasing, I was not involved in the selling, pricing, advertising, policy-making, or distribution of any of those masks.
For my role, I netted approximately $80,000 in consulting fees, all of which were used for charitable causes and persons in need, including over $20,000 in contributions to the San Diego Police Foundation and $11,000 to the food bank. Approximately 200,000 masks were also donated, which were provided for free to numerous philanthropic organizations, including Father Joe's Village, the San Diego Unified School District, Veterans of Foreign Wars posts, Inspiring Children, The House of Metamorphosis, The San Diego Police Foundation, countless medical clinics, and The Jacobs-Cushman Food Bank.
Separately, I and many of my colleagues volunteered to administer COVID vaccines to the public. I used my own funds to purchase several thousand specialized syringes that could extract 12 instead of 10 doses per vial, allowing us to vaccinate 20% more people who otherwise would not have had access to the vaccine in the early stages. We vaccinated long hours, even making home visits to the indigent and veterans at our own expense.
My son and I fully complied with a government investigation that determined that as an 18-year-old college student, he was involved in charging too much for the masks sold by the Australian company. They only sold legitimate masks at the prices that were advertised online, and all the masks that were ordered were delivered to the customers. There was no fraud.
The isolated price examples in the media did not reflect the company’s overall prices, which were comparable to those of other online retailers at the time. The company sold the masks for an average of approximately 2.2x what they paid.
Without question, my love and support for my son was a strong factor in deciding how to resolve this situation. So I agreed to end things quickly by pleading guilty to a misdemeanor violation, primarily to soften this situation's impact on my son and his future. I paid a $100,000 fine and committed to 200 hours of community service, which I already have a long history of doing.
I take pride in my 25 years of dedicated medical service and being one of the few Dermatologists who have not converted their practices to lucrative cosmetic services. Rather, I have devoted my career primarily to taking care of skin cancer patients, of which approximately half are seniors.
I made a mistake, which I regret terribly, and I hope this information helps to clarify and add context. I remain committed to providing compassionate, kind, and exceptional medical care with this legal matter behind me.
For those who did not rush to judgment and for the outpouring of support from patients, colleagues, and friends, I am left truly humbled.
With kindness,
Mona
