The business shut down after that raid, leaving many investors in the startup in the lurch as to what happened.
With no inventory to sell, ShotStop then filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in May.
“From around 2017 to October 2023, the defendant allegedly imported body armor from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and sold it under claims of being made in the United States and bearing a falsified trademarked label,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice. “Body armor is commonly used by those in law enforcement and other agencies for protection from ballistic threats to the torso area.”
The Feds say that in May 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protections in Blaine, Washington “intercepted a Canadian-registered truck found to be carrying more than 200 ballistic body armor plates in boxes marked with the PRC as the origin.”
“Cargo inspectors were unable to determine the manufacturer’s name. The plates were concealed in pre-packaged boxes within a larger shipping container which is a technique known as ‘Master Carton Smuggling’ and typically used in attempts to evade detection by POE officials,” according to a press release. “The hidden boxes of the unmanifested cargo were pre-labeled and addressed to a business in Stow, Vallmar Studios, which Iliev owned and operated. Investigators found that Vallmar’s business location was used as a warehouse to process the PRC-manufactured body armor before selling to the public through a second business, ShotStop Ballistics, which Iliev also owned and operated in Stow.”
U.S. law enforcement agencies use ballistic-resistant body armor that complies with standards set by the NIJ, and ShotStop marketed their Level III and Level IV body armor as “Made in Stow, Ohio” and “NIJ Certified.” The statement did not specify what materials were used in the body armor, but Kevlar-brand products are a typical component.
“However, inspectors who examined the intercepted body armor originating from the PRC, found that none of the items were shipped with related documentation that stated that the product met standards for NIJ certification,” according to the DOJ. “The seized ballistic plates were sent to Oregon Ballistic Laboratories for testing, which is one of five approved NIJ-certified facilities in the United States. The final test results report from the laboratory showed that the panels failed to meet NIJ standards for Level III certification. Test failure for Level III indicates that the same plates would not have passed the more rigorous testing required for Level IV.”
Nearly five dozen entities across the country at the least—many of them safety forces—had purchased potentially faulty body armor from ShotStop, according to bankruptcy filings and a list of creditors that submitted potential warranty claims.
They include: the Akron Police Department; Alaska State Troopers; Alliance Police Department; Blue Blood Brotherhood (Florida); City of High Point Police Department (North Carolina); Columbus Division of Police; Department of Homeland Security (Missouri); Las Vegas PD; NASA Glenn Research Center (Ohio); Pennsylvania Sheriff’s Association; Rocky River Police Department; Stow Police Department; Strongsville Police Department; and the U.S. Marshalls Service (Arizona).
“Investigators found thousands of Chinese-produced body armor plates at Vallmar and ShotStop, which served as warehouses to receive, but had no means of producing, Level III or Level IV body armor,” according to the DOJ. “The ShotStop location housed a laser printer which was used to print the fake DOJ certification labels that Iliev’s employees were instructed to place on the sub-standard body armor before selling and shipping to customers.”
The DOJ notes that the case is being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Cleveland Office alongside the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Duncan T. Brown for the Northern District of Ohio.
“If you have purchased ShotStop Ballistics body armor from 2018 onward, for product safety reasons, HSI recommends discontinuing use,” the DOJ said. “For those who purchased items in question from ShotStop Ballistics, please email a copy of your invoice to [email protected] with ‘ShotStop Invoice’ in the subject line no later than Monday, April 7, 2025.”
In November 2020, Iliev said he envisioned ShotStop growing to more than 50 employees and about $150 million in revenue over the next two or three years. As of fall 2021, the business reported having just eight full-time employees, according to court documents.
ShotStop investors, including Seven Hills resident Bryan Schneider, have been frustrated by the lack of details about the company and the raid since the company shut down.
Schneider told Crain’s in December that he invested a large portion of his retirement savings into the company and that he believed at one time he might see a return of millions of dollars.
“It looked like I had a winner,” Schneider said. “And then I didn’t. It just disappeared.”
Crain's has reached out to Iliev for comment.
