This archive report was first published on 8 May 2020.
He Had Never Sold a Ventilator. N.Y. Gave Him an $86 Million Deal. ¶
At the height of the pandemic, New York State was desperate to procure medical equipment, particularly ventilators. In a bid to expedite the process, the state eschewed competitive bidding protocols and resorted to vendors with no prior experience in government procurement.
One such vendor was Yaron Oren-Pines, a 50-year-old Silicon Valley engineer with a background in mobile communications technology. Despite having no experience in selling medical equipment, Oren-Pines was awarded a contract worth $86 million to supply 1,450 ventilators to New York State.
The deal was facilitated by a team of inexperienced young volunteers recruited at FEMA by President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. According to emails obtained by The New York Times, Oren-Pines was referred to New York State by a federal official who claimed that he had been vetted and approved by the federal government.
However, the deal began to unravel as quickly as it had come together. A bank froze funds that the state had wired to Oren-Pines due to a suspicious transaction, and state officials were warned of possible shipping complications. Before long, Oren-Pines and his partners began accusing the state of breach of contract.
State officials later tried to send inspectors to confirm the stockpile in China, but the effort was unsuccessful, and the contract was terminated. The state's hospitalization rate fell far short of projections, and New York's need for ventilators lessened, diminishing the urgency to proceed with a contract mired in complications.
According to Richard Azzopardi, a senior aide to Governor Cuomo, the federal government had referred Oren-Pines to New York State, confirming that he was vetted and approved by the federal government. However, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services said that the agency was reviewing the matter and had nothing further to add.
Mr. Oren-Pines rejected several requests for interviews, citing a confidentiality agreement. His LinkedIn profile shows that he has experience in mobile communications technology and has worked in a number of technology-related roles, including as a consultant for Google.
It is unclear when Oren-Pines reached out to the federal government offering to provide medical equipment. However, his offer was received by Kushner-appointed FEMA volunteers who were drawn from venture capital and private equity firms, and had little to no experience with government procurement procedures.
