Chapter 7 - THE MEDICAL DEVICE CONTRACT
The control modules were part of a $38 million supply agreement.
Jake’s employer, Northline Freight, handled transport.
Supplier:
Vantage Controls.
Buyer:
MedCore Systems.
Darren did not work for either.
He worked for Northline.
So why would a freight operations manager care about fake parts?
Because Northline had a warehousing subsidiary.
Northline Distribution Services.
At one regional warehouse, incoming Vantage pallets were temporarily stored before final delivery.
That created opportunity.
Investigators pulled warehouse camera records.
Missing.
Three nights from the previous month had been overwritten early.
Access log:
Darren Pike.
Then inventory.
Seventeen pallets had serial discrepancies.
Potential exposure:
$4.6 million.
Someone had been swapping certified modules with refurbished units, then selling or diverting genuine modules elsewhere.
Jake asked:
“Where did the real parts go?”
Answer:
unknown.
Then customs data found a reseller in Mexico buying “surplus Vantage modules.”
Seller:
Ridgeway Industrial Recovery.
Owner:
Cole Mercer’s brother.
There.
Supply chain.
Northline warehouse access.
Cole handles physical swap.
Ridgeway resells genuine modules.
Fake/refurbished units continue to MedCore.
Darren coordinates movement.
Tyler’s hook job was cleanup.
One pallet had been flagged for inspection after a receiving technician questioned serial formatting.
Darren needed that pallet damaged before arrival.
If damage explained rejection, nobody would inspect the serials closely.
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The bridge was not the target.
The pallet was.
