New Details In PPE Fraud Lawsuit Between State And Tulsa Company

A Tulsa businessman blames several international companies for losing about $2 million of taxpayer money intended for PPE.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health sued Casey Bradford in January over the botched orders of N-95 masks during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In new court filings, Casey Bradford and his company, PPE Supplies, LLC, alleged it has been almost a year of waiting for third parties to pay them back.

Now, PPE Supplies, LLC, is suing those businesses in federal court.

According to court documents from the civil lawsuit, in March 2020, the State Health Department paid $2.1 million to PPE Supplies, LLC, in Tulsa.

The company then contacted another company called KaiKane in Washington State, which had ties to Khan Enterprises in Kuwait.

PPE Supplies, LLC, ordered one million masks from Khan Enterprises and wired the company $1.7 million of state money.

Next, Khan Enterprises and a company called IREC in Cambodia ordered the masks from a company called EJET in China.

In May 2020, word got back to Oklahoma that the masks would instead be going to Mongolia.

"PPE Supplies is upset that this occurred and is making all efforts to remedy this situation and continues to do that and would like to be able to work with the state to accomplish that goal,” said Margo Shipley, who represents Casey Bradford and PPE Supplies, LLC.

Bradford is one of three partners of PPE Supplies, LLC, and has asked the court to dismiss the state's lawsuit against him.

The state claims Bradford misrepresented his business' ability to provide the masks.

PPE Supplies paid the state back $300,000 last June.

Meanwhile, PPE Supplies has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the third parties it worked with, alleging they have not paid back what they owe.

In August, IREC sent documents, noting it is taking responsibility for $1.7M and said it will pay back with 3.25% interest.

So far, IREC has paid back $50,000.

The Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office, which is representing the State Health Department, declined to comment on the recent court filings.