RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The North Carolina attorney general’s office has received over a thousand coronavirus-related price gouging complaints. Among them: a Facebook marketplace seller asking $100 for a roll of toilet paper.
Of the approximately 1,200 complaints made since a state of emergency was declared and the price gouging law went into effect, 54 percent involve grocery items, TV station WTVD reported. Consumers also reported being charged too much for hand sanitizer, cleaning products and face masks.
Attorney General Josh Stein’s office says it is investigating nine North Carolina-based sellers on Amazon. Those sellers are accused of raising prices on coronavirus-related products by more than 40 percent, the station reported.
At a time when North Carolinians are trying to take care of themselves and their families in the face of an unprecedented crisis, some sellers are instead focused on unfairly taking people’s money,” Stein said in a statement. “My office will investigate these cases and take action if we believe they’ve violated the price gouging law.
Offenders face a penalty of up to $5,000 per violation.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.