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Price Gouging

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Fed Judge Fines NJ Firm $67,668 For Jacking Up Price Of N95 Masks By 400% Fed Judge Fines NJ Firm $67,668 For Jacking Up Price Of N95 Masks By 400%
Fed Judge Fines NJ Firm $67,668 For Jacking Up Price Of N95 Masks By 400% A Mahwah-based company that admitted selling N95 protective masks at a 400% markup to a grocery store chain at the beginning of the pandemic was fined $67,668 by a federal judge. TSC Agency LLC -- a logistics and freight forwarding company located off southbound Route 17 near the State Line Diner -- will also remain on probation for a year under the terms of a plea deal with the government, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said on Tuesday, April 26. TSC and two partners bought 250,000 of the filtering facepiece respirators at $1.09 apiece mask from a foreign manufacturer in mid-March 2020…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
COVID Mask Seller From Brooklyn Pleads Guilty To Gouging NJ Grocers At 400% Markup COVID Mask Seller From Brooklyn Pleads Guilty To Gouging NJ Grocers At 400% Markup
COVID Mask Seller From Brooklyn Pleads Guilty To Gouging NJ Grocers At 400% Markup A Brooklyn company admitted that it illegally made a killing off a New Jersey grocery store chain by selling it COVID masks during the pandemic at a 400% markup, federal authorities said. Milk & Honey Ventures and two partners bought 250,000 KN95 filtering facepiece respirators from a foreign manufacturer, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said Tuesday, March 29. MHV had never sold personal protective equipment before, Sellinger said. The company and one its partners sold 100,000 of the masks to a chain of New Jersey grocery stores at $5.25 per mask -- far in excess of prevailing marke…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds: Price-Gouging NJ Company Admits Giving ‘Mask Up’ New Meaning Feds: Price-Gouging NJ Company Admits Giving ‘Mask Up’ New Meaning
Feds: Price-Gouging NJ Company Admits Giving ‘Mask Up’ New Meaning Representatives of a Mahwah-based company admitted selling N95 protective masks at a 400% markup to a grocery store chain at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, federal authorities said. TSC Agency and two partners bought 250,000 of the filtering facepiece respirators at $1.09 apiece mask from a foreign manufacturer in mid-March 2020, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig said. TSC then sold 100,000 of the masks to the unidentified chain for $5.25 each, violating federal price-gouging laws, she said. The logistics company – located on Lethbridge Plaza off southbound Route 17 near the S…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ: COVID Price Gougers Include Two Trenton Markets NJ: COVID Price Gougers Include Two Trenton Markets
NJ: COVID Price Gougers Include Two Trenton Markets A dozen COVID price gougers fined by the state include a Jersey Shore business that sold masks at a 600% markup, a Bergen County pharmacy that peddled at-home antibody tests and several other merchants who jacked up prices on bottled water, rice and other essentials, authorities announced Monday.  Performance Supply LLC made “false and misleading statements in advertising N95 mask respirators for sale to personnel from the New York City Office of Citywide Procurement,” New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. The Manalapan-based business “misleadingly suggested the company i…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
NY, NJ, CT Among Country’s Worst Health Infrastructures For Coronavirus, Survey Says NY, NJ, CT Among Country’s Worst Health Infrastructures For Coronavirus, Survey Says
NY, NJ, CT Among Country’s Worst Health Infrastructures For Coronavirus, Survey Says New York, New Jersey and Connecticut were among the least prepared states in the U.S. for the coronavirus pandemic, a recent survey found. Although a good part of the county was caught unprepared for COVID-19's magnitude – running out of both hospital space and supplies for doctors and nurses – some states’ healthcare systems “were better equipped to deal with the onslaught of the virus than others,” a Wallethub study found. Connecticut ranked No. 50 – the worst -- in overall public health preparedness for the pandemic. New York finished 50th in lowest total public health emergency prepare…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Murphy: 'Hoarders Deserve Special Place In Hell,' FBI Agents Raid 2nd Lakewood Warehouse Murphy: 'Hoarders Deserve Special Place In Hell,' FBI Agents Raid 2nd Lakewood Warehouse
Murphy: 'Hoarders Deserve Special Place In Hell,' FBI Agents Raid 2nd Lakewood Warehouse For the second time in two days, FBI agents and other law enforcement officers raided a Lakewood warehouse, leaving with truckloads of personal protective equipment. More protective gear -- including masks critically needed during the coronavirus outbreak -- were hoarded by a local business, according to several media outlets. Investigators in FBI jackets entered a warehouse at 155 Oberlin North Thursday, but would not speak to news reporters. One employee told the Asbury Park Press "it's about masks." Multiple freight trucks transported boxes away from the building for hours. Gov. Phil …

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by Jon Craig
News
COVID Price Gouging Prompts 3,000 NJ Complaints, 500 AG Warnings, 90 Subpoenas COVID Price Gouging Prompts 3,000 NJ Complaints, 500 AG Warnings, 90 Subpoenas
COVID Price Gouging Prompts 3,000 NJ Complaints, 500 AG Warnings, 90 Subpoenas New Jersey authorities are continuing an ongoing crackdown on price gougers during the coronavirus pandemic. The state Division of Consumer Affairs has issued at least 514 cease-and-desist letters and 89 subpoenas to businesses reported to have violated laws during the pandemic, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said Wednesday. The state has so far received 2,978 complaints involving 1,800 businesses related to the COVID-19 emergency, Grewal said.  About 90 percent of the complaints involve inflated prices for surgical masks, hand sanitizer, disinfectant spray and wipes, food, b…

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by Jon Craig
News
Authorities Pursue 600+ Price-Gouging Complaints In NJ: Got Any? Authorities Pursue 600+ Price-Gouging Complaints In NJ: Got Any?
Authorities Pursue 600+ Price-Gouging Complaints In NJ: Got Any? New Jersey authorities reported 619 coronavirus-related price gouging complaints from throughout the state as of Tuesday – all of which they said are being investigated. The state Division of Consumer Affairs already was sending 82 cease-and-desist and warning letters to businesses following complaints from customers, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. The number of complaints more than doubled in just five days, when customers in New Jersey had filed 270, Grewal said. Retailers are accused of unfairly raising prices on surgical masks, hand sanitizers, disinfectant sprays and wipes, a…

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by Jerry DeMarco