Harry Hurley Opinion-Editorial

Raising prices is always a deeply disturbing practice.

However, when it occurs during an unprecedented global and potentially fatal health pandemic, it is understandable.

When you rip others off at your best, it's still bad. When you do this at the worst, it is despicable.

We don't have to go too far to find examples of this kind of unethical behavior. It happened in New Jersey.

A New Jersey company admitted in court that it violated the federal price fraud law. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, it sold N95 protective masks (to an unidentified grocery chain) at a price increase of 400%.

The logistics company TSC Agency pleaded guilty in a video conference before a federal judge last Wednesday.

They will face fines of at least US$200,000 and more. The actual fine will be assessed based on the victim's monetary loss. The sentence is scheduled for April 13, 2022.

Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig stated, “The company and two partners purchased 250,000 masks from a foreign manufacturer at a price of $1.09 per mask in mid-March 2020. Then sold 100,000 of these masks to a grocery chain at a price of $5.25 per mask."

When they did this, New Jersey and all Americans were very uncertain about COVID-19.

To further exacerbate this turmoil, there is a severe shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) available for consumers to purchase.

The federal defense production law was triggered during the COVID-19 pandemic. It prohibits the resale of stockpiled materials at a price higher than the existing fair market price.

You have heard of other unreasonable examples in the past. During a natural disaster, bad actors charge $100 for a box (24) of bottled water. Boxes like this usually sell for between US$3 and US$5 per box.

This situation is equally disturbing, or even worse.

The gallery below shows the number of New Jersey businesses that have closed during the COVID-19 pandemic so far.

Source: Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig