Hand sanitizer, masks targeted by price gougers during coronavirus, SC officials say
Hand sanitizer, masks and other vital cleaning supplies needed to help stop the spread of the coronavirus are among the most commonly targeted items by price gougers in South Carolina, according to law enforcement.
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said his office has received more than 650 complaints about price gouging as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise.
Wilson has assigned the possible cases to local prosecutors for their offices to investigate and potentially prosecute, according to a news release.
“We’ve received more than 650 complaints since the Governor declared a state of emergency on March 13th and we’ve been going through those complaints to find ones that could meet our state law’s definition of price gouging,” Wilson said in the release. “We want to get moving on these as soon as possible to get the word out that we are investigating these price gouging complaints and will prosecute the businesses and individuals that violate the law.”
In addition to the masks and sanitizer (wipes, gels and sprays), some of the items the attorney general said were most often listed in the complaints included toilet paper and food — especially meat and eggs.
Price gouging is a misdemeanor and the maximum punishment under South Carolina law is 30 days in jail, and a $1,000 fine.
State law defines price gouging as an “unconscionable price” and defines that as “a gross disparity between the price” being charged and “the average price … in the usual course of business during the thirty days immediately before the declaration of a state of emergency,” as long as the increase is not caused by additional costs incurred by market trends, according to the release.
During other states of emergency, the Attorney General’s Office said it has waited until after the emergency is over to have local law enforcement investigate price gouging complaints.
But this emergency differs because the coronavirus pandemic has been occurring for a prolonged period of time and “law enforcement is not having to carry out the functions it usually does during hurricanes or floods,” it said in the release.
The Attorney General’s Office encourages everyone to report potential price gouging, and can email complaints to pricegouging@scag.gov, or register them online at www.scag.gov and click on the “Price Gouging Information” tab, or by calling 803-737-3953.
On Tuesday, 115 new cases of the coronavirus were reported in South Carolina, bringing the statewide total to 3,553 confirmed COVID-19 cases in all 46 counties, according to DHEC.
DHEC also announced that 10 more people died after testing positive for the coronavirus, raising that total to 97. State health officials described 86 of the people as elderly, 11 patients were middle-aged, and all but six are confirmed to have had underlying medical conditions.
“There is currently no cure or vaccine,” the South Carolina Emergency Management Division said.
There have been 30,319 combined negative tests at DHEC’s public health laboratory and at private labs.
As of Wednesday morning, 1,996,681 people worldwide have been diagnosed with coronavirus and 127,590 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States leads the world with 609,685 people who have been diagnosed with the novel virus. In the U.S. 26,059 deaths have been reported, including 7,905 in New York City, according to Johns Hopkins.
This story was originally published April 15, 2020 at 1:50 PM.
