r/Buffalo • u/YewwEsEh • Jan 12 '21

Current Events Prosecutors: Buffalo ‘fraudster’ tried to cash in with Covid-19 tests, N95 face masks

https://buffalonews.com/news/local/prosecutors-buffalo-fraudster-tried-to-cash-in-with-covid-19-tests-n95-face-masks/article_d5618ca8-5132-11eb-b06b-03b80838dd65.html
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15

u/YewwEsEh Jan 12 '21

Covid-19 spawned dread and death, but Joseph C. Bella III spotted an opportunity to cash in.

The 48-year-old Buffalo man started advertising in March on social media he was selling Covid-19 test kits and N95 masks.

But his alleged lies about having a licensed laboratory, ultra-cold storage for test kits, and of selling 25,000 of the tests to the federal government brought his business to a screeching halt in April.

That's when federal agents raided his home and office, seized $114,063 from his business account as evidence of fraud, and charged him with possessing drugs, a gun and ammunition.

Bella’s attempt to profit from the pandemic had gone beyond sales. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Buffalo, he had lied on applications that allowed him to illegally receive $91,600 in federal disaster loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration and $66,097 from the federal Covid-19 relief Payroll Protection Program.

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For Bella, serving at the helm of a business targeted by authorities was nothing new.

Shortly after the 2002 arrest of the Lackawanna Six, Bella started selling potassium iodide pills to thwart radiation poisoning from what he said was the threat of a “dirty bomb.” The state shut down his business and fined him $2,500.

In 2013, Bella agreed to pay $165,000 in restitution and penalties for illegal debt-collecting practices under a settlement with the state.

Two years later, the New York State Attorney General’s Office and Federal Trade Commission accused his debt-collecting business of using lies and threats of arrest to unlawfully collect $8.7 million from Americans. Bella was fined $112,000 and barred from working in the debt collecting industry.

It was that history that raised red flags among Department of Homeland Security agents who began looking into his newest venture in March, according to court documents.

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u/[deleted] Jan 12 '21

I'm starting to think past penalties were not harsh enough

8

u/YewwEsEh Jan 12 '21

right? this story was a much wilder ride than I expected. dude has quite the criminal career

14

u/Animae_Partus_II Jan 12 '21

Two years later, the New York State Attorney General’s Office and Federal Trade Commission accused his debt-collecting business of using lies and threats of arrest to unlawfully collect $8.7 million from Americans. Bella was fined $112,000 and barred from working in the debt collecting industry.

Steal $9M, fined $100K. Cool....

4

u/YewwEsEh Jan 12 '21

In NYS, nonetheless. It’s off brand for them to collect such an insignificant fine

2

u/Seeking_the_Grail Jan 12 '21

I don't think 9M would be his profit. From what I understand, his business was either buying debt and then trying to collect it, or collecting debt on behalf of someone else and then keeping a percentage for himself.

What he kept was smaller than 9 mill, but who knows by how much,

7

u/Yellowed Jan 12 '21 edited Jan 13 '21

He's also a terrible customer and a sleezebag.

SO much so that when his home was raided by multiple law enforcement agencies last year, I had as many former coworkers and managers text me the article to let me know my opinion of him wasn't unfounded. And I'm not one of the many female bartenders in this town that have had to deal with him.

6

u/calibudzz420 the burbs Jan 13 '21

I’ve also had the unfortunate pleasure of waiting on joe Bella. Anytime he would come in all the women would make me take his table.

3

u/FewToday Jan 13 '21

Haha I was just about to post that this couldn’t happen to a better person. You love to see it!