COVID-19: Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer Warns Against Price-Gouging
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Authorities locally are on the lookout for anyone who is price-gouging consumers.
Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer said in a public message that he has already located companies engaged in that practice online.
"We recently purchased from third party sellers online on Amazon a half-gallon of bleach for more than $100. We also bought a two-pack of one-liter hand sanitizer for $149," he said.
Feuer defines price-gouging as a price increase of 10 percent or more during an emergency. Not only does it rip off customers, but Feuer says it leads people to think that stores will run out of supplies.
"Price-gouging of course rips off consumers and wrongfully costs them money," he said. "But it's more than that. The mere listing of a product in an emergency at inflated prices spurs panic and we all suffer when stores are needlessly in short supply."
On March 4, Los Angeles County declared a state of emergency with laws against price-gouging taking effect. Price-gouging can be criminally and civilly prosecuted.
Authorities say violators can be sentenced up to one year of imprisonment in county jail and/or fined up to $10,000; they are also subject to civil enforcement actions, including civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation, injunctive relief and mandatory restitution.