Frank Smail Jr, PPE Theft and Obstruction, South Carolina 2020

Frank Smail Jr, a 49-year-old man from Round O, South Carolina, has been charged with conspiracy to steal personal protective equipment (PPE) from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Charleston. Smail was also charged with PPE theft, obstruction of justice, and lying to federal agents.

According to the indictment, both Smail and Mike Pellegrini, a 58-year-old man from North Charleston, worked for FLETC. The case was brought as part of the District of South Carolina’s Hoarding and Price Gouging (HPG) Task Force, and led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

“It is tragic that, at a time when PPE is most needed and in short supply, someone would steal this vital equipment from those who train our front-line federal law enforcement officers,” said U.S. Attorney Peter M. McCoy, Jr. “This office will always stand up and protect our law enforcement partners. I appreciate the hard work of the FBI and our HPG Task Force, which worked tirelessly to investigate this case.”

Pellegrini and Smail face up to five years for the conspiracy charge, and Smail faces up to 10 years for the PPE theft charge, up to 20 years for the obstruction charge, and up to five years for the charge of lying to Federal investigators. The indictment alleges that Smail stole a large amount of FLETC’s PPE supply after he and Pellegrini developed a plan to do so.

The case is being investigated by the FBI and FLETC’s Office of Professional Responsibility as part of the District of South Carolina’s HPG Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Johanna Valenzuela and Derek A. Shoemake. U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr created the COVID-19 Hoarding and Price Gouging Task Force to investigate and prosecute illegal activity involving protective personal equipment.

Anyone wishing to report COVID-19 fraud, hoarding, or price-gouging can do so by contacting the National Center for Disaster Fraud’s National Hotline via phone: (866) 720-5721, or e-mail: disaster@leo.gov.

Smail was charged with conspiracy, PPE theft, obstruction of justice, and lying to federal agents. The indictment alleges that FLETC – which provides career-long training to law enforcement professionals in more than 90 Federal agencies – had a student and instructor test positive for COVID-19 on March 20, 2020. Just three weeks later, Smail allegedly stole a large amount of FLETC’s PPE supply.

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