Exhibit 71, Emails Re: 100M Mask Order, April 10, 2020 — Blue Flame v. Chain Bridge (Document 131-6)

Summary

Exhibit 71, Document 131-6, filed May 7, 2021 in Case 1:20-cv-00658-LMB-IDD: an email chain of April 10, 2020 with the subject "100M Mask Order" between John Thomas, President of Blueflame Strategies, and Michael Wong, Contracts Administrator, DGS. Michael Wong writes that the original sale sheet sent on March 23, 2020 listed 3M N95 masks and that the State must be absolutely certain on the goods it is purchasing if an order is executed. John Thomas replies that the discussion covered only California's approved models of N95 masks, not 3M brand masks, and that pricing from the manufacturer changes every 24 hours.

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EXHIBIT 71

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2016

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2017

I know it's been a while since we have had these conversations but at no time did you and I
discuss providing anything other than the model numbers you suggested were approved for the
state of California. You are correct that our sales sheet did offer 3M masks along with 11
other models at that time in addition to 3M masks (3M's were listed at $6.89 per mask) but our
discussion was never related to the 3M brand. I was clear that we were only focusing on the
approved brands you said California was looking to procure. I have reviewed all of our
correspondence both via email and text and at no time was 3M mentioned as a desired
manufacturer or model.
Here are the four non-3M models we discussed:
DTC 3B
DTX 3X
L-288
SEKURA-321
Are these still the approved models that California is looking for? Are there any others that are
now approved? We offer other FDA approved models as well.
As a side note 3M's N95 masks are four digits including some examples like 1860, 8210,
1870.
I appreciate the clarification as we want to be crystal clear on what you need and what we can
provide. Relating to price and to be fully transparent, the current quote for the above models
we discussed is likely to fluctuate again very soon. I can honor this current pricing
estimate only for another 24 hours without a commitment from the State.
Hope this helps clarify what we can provide. Please let me know if I can answer any other
questions or if you want to do a quick phone call to go over this in more depth. I'm sure you
are swamped with a million emails these days.
Kindest regards,
John
On Fri, Apr 10, 2020 at 10:13 AM Wong, Michael@DGS <Michael.Wong@dgs.ca.gov>
wrote:
John,
The original sale sheet sent to me on March 23, 2020 listed 3M N95 masks specifically.
Moreover, in an email to my colleague on March 20, 2020, you indicated that you have
specifically 3M brand N95 masks. All of our conversations and correspondence were
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predicated on the products being 3M brand. We must be absolutely certain on the goods we
are purchasing if we execute an order.
Respectfully,
/144ael
Contracts Administrator
Phone: 916-441-9619
Email: Michael.Wonciados.ca.clov
Das PROCUREMENT
Beware of Fraudulent Activity! — OGS has recently been made aware of fraudulent Purchase Orders and Spoof emails
issued to the vendor community. Always confirm the validity of any Purchase Order by contacting the agency making the
request. Do not process any order that appears suspicious. Do not click on any hyper/inks from a suspicious email. A list of
State agency contact information is provided on the DGS website located at
htto://www.das.ca.qov/pd/Proorams/Deleqated.asux. Be vigilant by confirming valid State of California emails and phone
numbers at httos://cold.aovous.ca.00vt Vigilance is everyone's responsibility. For more information please visit
htto://www.dgs.ca.aoviod/Home/FRAUDALERT,aspx.
From: John Thomas <john@blueflame.agency>
Sent: Friday, April 10, 2020 8:43 AM
To: Wong, Michael@DGS <Michael.Wonga,das.ca.gov>
Subject: Re: 100M Mask Order
CAUTION: This email originated from a NON-State email address. Do not click links or open attachments
unless you are certain of the sender's authenticity.
Dear Michael,
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To clarify, at no point did we suggest that we could supply 100 million 3M manufacturer
brand masks. We only discussed sending 100 million of California's approved models of N95
masks
I have attached the original invoice which delineated the models we agreed to provide. Here
is a screenshot of that invoice below:
Regarding the price of the approved models we can provide, pricing is volatile in today's
market. Due to high global demand for masks and the raw materials to make masks our
pricing changes every 24 hours from our manufacturer. This is why such a significant deposit
is required so that we can lock in your price for the full order. It has been more than two
weeks since the original price we discussed and demand for this product has only increased
causing the manufacturer's cost to skyrocket. This is one of the main reasons I was urging the
state to follow through on their original transaction.
We truly do want to provide critical PPE to my home state and this is of a high priority to us
but we are going to run into another pricing increase if the State decides to wait much longer.
There is not a single PPE item we can supply that has not seen a price increase from two
weeks ago.
If you need further clarification I am more than happy to discuss via phone or on a call with
your executives.
Thank you for your effort on this.
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2020

Sincerely,
John
On Fri, Apr 10, 2020 at 8:03 AM Wong, Michael@DGS <Michael.Wong dgs.ca.gov>
wrote:
Hi John,
Just to recap from our call yesterday, we originally had a quote for 3M N95 masks for
$4.76, but I think you mentioned yesterday that the masks are not 3M. Can you please
clarify? I have to brief my executives on why we would be paying more for non-3M masks.
Respectfully,
Afteklei 14
Contracts Administrator
Phone: 916-441-9619
Email: Michael.Wonqadas.ca.dov
p
L E NT
Beware of Fraudulent Activity! — DGS has recently been made aware of fraudulent Purchase Orders and Spoof emails
issued to the vendor community. Always confirm the validity of any Purchase Order by contacting the agency making the
request. Do not process any order that appears suspicious. Do not click on any hyperlinks from a suspicious email. A list of
State agency contact information is provided on the DGS website located at
http://www.dgs.ca.00vybd/Programs/Delegated.aspx. Be vigilant by confirming valid State of California emails and phone
numbers at httbs://cold.qovops.ca.00v/. Vigilance is everyone's responsibility. For more information please visit
httbitkrww.dqs.ca..aov/pd/Home/FRAUDALERT.aspx.
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John Thomas
President
Blueflame Strategies
c. (818) 636-6522
e. Iohn@blueflame.agency
John Thomas
President
Blueflame Strategies
c. (818) 636-6522
e. john@blueflame.agency
John Thomas
President
Blueflame Strategies
c. (818) 636-6522
e. john4),blueflame.agency
John Thomas
President
Blueflame Strategies
c. (818) 636-6522
e. john@blueflame.agency
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