SANTA MONICA—Niki Schwarz, 55, of Santa Monica, was charged in federal court with accumulating N95 respirators in anticipation of the COVID-19 pandemic and price gouging by selling the masks at inflated prices, officials announced on Tuesday, October 13. 

Schwarz, the owner of Tikkun Holistic Spa, was charged with one count of hoarding and price gouging. She agreed to plead guilty to the misdemeanor offense in a plea agreement that was filed on October 13. The hoarding and price gouging offense carries a statutory maximum sentence of one year in federal prison. The United States Postal Inspection Service investigated the matter.

Schwarz admitted in the plea agreement that she began hoarding the masks in February in anticipation of a shortage that she understood would happen because of the spread of COVID-19, the U.S. Attorney’s Office noted.

“From the beginning of February until the end of June, Schwarz accumulated nearly 20,000 N95 masks that had been manufactured by 3M (list price ranging from $1.02 to $1.27) and Alpha Pro (list price of 86 cents),” states Schwarz’s agreement. 

Schwarz admitted that she obtained the N95 respirators for the purpose of reselling them at above-market rates, and that she sold the masks for up to $15 each — almost 1,100 percent over list price. 

In March, the U.S. government designated N95 masks as “scarce materials” under the Defense Production Act of 1950 due to the overwhelming need of health care providers dealing with COVID-19 patients to use personal protective equipment.

Schwarz admitted in the agreement that she resold the masks “with knowledge that masks had been designated as scarce materials and with knowledge that accumulation of the designated materials to resell in excess of prevailing market prices was unlawful.”

An unnamed associate informed Schwarz on March 1 that she was going to “stop selling N95 masks because she believed it was crime.” Schwarz continued to sell the masks at inflated prices. 

Schwarz awaits a summons order to make an initial appearance in United States District Court, likely in early November, officials said.