Vancouver, WA: Jeffrey Meining, 42, was convicted of deliberately marketing and selling substandard ballistic protective equipment manufactured in China to numerous U.S. military and domestic law enforcement agencies. He was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison, in addition to three years of supervised release.
BulletProof-IT, a ballistic equipment enterprise that Meining managed from 2016 to 2022, was under his ownership. U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon: The company supplied goods to numerous state, local, and federal entities, such as fire departments, law enforcement agencies, and the United States Military.
Regarding product compliance with safety regulations and manufacturing location, Meining engaged in deceit. He purchased the goods from China and resold them to government agencies at substantial markups, despite claiming they were manufactured in the United States.
On business materials and government contracts, the individual misrepresented the origins of the product.
“As per a contract with the General Services Administration (GSA) that authorized federal, state, and local government agencies to procure tactical supplies from certified suppliers, BulletProof-IT commenced supplying goods to U.S Tactical Supply in 2016.” an official statement described the agreement. “The government could only procure goods manufactured in the United States or specifically designated countries, in accordance with the GSA contract clauses.”
Over $1 million worth of products were supplied by Meining under the GSA contract between 2016 and January 2022; of these, approximately $400,000 were substitute products that failed to meet the necessary safety standards.
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Numerous products that he sold failed even rudimentary testing protocols, and he never paid for any National Institutes of Justice testing for any of the goods. He sold defective products despite having fabricated test results.
A parcel originating from China and destined for Meining in June 2021 was apprehended and ashore by United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel stationed in Portland. Body armor plates and headgear were comprised of it.
The statement continued, “In order to authorize the shipment, Meining fabricated test results by removing notations indicating which products failed performance evaluations.”
The products’ purchasers’ decisions were impacted by Meining’s false statements. He falsely claimed that ballistics headgear sold to the Mesa Police Department in 2019 met National Institute of Justice specifications, as stated in a contract for that merchandise. A decade later, while selling helmets to the United States Air Force, he fraudulently claimed the same thing.
As of November 2022, Meining was accused of wire fraud, according to the criminal information. His plea of guilty was entered in March 2023.
Robert Hammer, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Seattle Field Office, stated in the release, “Jeriche Meining designed a betrayal scheme that defrauded not only law enforcement agencies but the very fabric of trust that is woven into our nation’s armor in the shadow of deceit.”
“Meining operated under the guise of an American-made product line while manufacturing in China, fabricating test results to obscure the insufficiency of said products, and peddling fraudulent assurances through his company. The lives of those who had vowed to protect and serve were imperiled by his conduct, which constituted a serious breach of integrity,” he added.