TAMPA, Fla. (WLFA) – Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody says she’s fed up with price gouging and determined to go after those who take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic.
Moody tells Investigative Reporter Shannon Behnken she has received hundreds of complaints since she activated her price gouging hotline. The top items in demand are hand sanitizer, cleaning wipes and face masks.
Moody gave examples of a 12-pack of toilet paper listed for sale online for $10,095, eight cans of Lysol for $187 and someone claiming to raise money for facemasks for charity while they were selling masks online for $12 each on the same site.
“We will not sit by while people want to profit off of emergency,” Moody said. “We only know about this if Floridians will help us by reporting this information and we encourage them to report to our hotline which is 1866-9-NO-SCAM.”
Civil penalties range from $1,000 per violation up to $25,000 a day. And keep this in mind, Moody said, prosecutors across the state are looking at these cases and will determine which ones will be criminal violations.
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