Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is taking legal action against Chinese medical device maker Contec for allegedly selling compromised devices with a backdoor that transmits patient data to China. (Getty Images)
Among the concerns listed by Uthmeier were efforts by Contec and those distributing its products to represent Contec's patient monitors as approved by the FDA and other international standards, even though they were not approved by the FDA, nor did they meet the global standards the company claimed.
Uthmeier also accused one of Contec's distributors of its patient monitors, Miami-based Epsimed, of hiding that they were selling Contec's devices by relabeling them as their own.
"CCP land ownership is bad, but it’s [the] tip of the iceberg. Their industrial property holdings are worse, as is their port access. Perhaps worst of all is their deep penetration of critical infrastructure and govt systems."
Meanwhile, Uthmeier, who also issued subpoenas to Epsimed, added that while Contec and Epsimed were representing the patient monitoring device as having certain quality assurances around safety and reliability, it simultaneously "contained a backdoor and transmitted patient information to China."
Fox News Digital reached out to Contec repeatedly for this story but did not receive a response.
Jose Mena, Epsimed's CEO, confirmed receipt of Uthmeier's subpoenas and said they are cooperating "100%."
CHINESE DEVICES ARE THREATENING OUR NATIONAL SECURITY AND SAFETY, BUT THERE'S A SIMPLE SOLUTION
"We do not sell these monitors in the U.S. Our clients are in Latin America," Mena added.
"The monitors are hardly used with internet connection," he continued. "For the monitor to connect to the internet and pose a threat, it requires a Central Monitoring System which we have never supplied, meaning, the monitors sold by EPSIMED are currently being used as stand-alone basis (not connected to internet). Finally and most importantly, as soon as we gained knowledge in January 2025 that CONTEC monitors had a vulnerability issue, we immediately removed this product from our product portfolio."
The national flags of the United States and China flutter at the Fairmont Peace Hotel in Shanghai, China. (Wang Gang/VCG via Getty Images)
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"The U.S. must choose to get serious or lose a war," Michael Lucci, the CEO and founder of State Armor Action, a conservative group with a mission to develop and enact state-level solutions to global security threats, warned via his X account following Israel's attacks.
"CCP land ownership is bad, but it’s tip of the iceberg. Their industrial property holdings are worse, as is their port access. Perhaps worst of all is their deep penetration of critical infrastructure and govt systems."
Lucci added following news of Uthmeier's legal action that patients "need to feel safe when receiving care, not worried that their medical devices are sending their data back to Communist China."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/florida-ag-subpoenas-chinese-company-over-compromised-medical-devices-can-transmit-private-data