More than 5,000 Pennsylvania residents had reported price hikes in essential products during the covid-19 pandemic as of early June, and state Attorney General Josh Shapiro filed a lawsuit against a Philadelphia company accused of charging nearly $76 for a small bottle of hand sanitizer during the height of the covid-19 pandemic.

M&B Multi Services Inc. sold at least 83 bottles of 8-ounce Purell hand sanitizer for as much as $75.80 through Amazon.com, Shapiro said in announcing the $825,000 lawsuit.

“M&B charged outrageous markups for hand sanitizer at the height of public anxiety, was asked to provide refunds, and refused. We are seeking nearly $1 million in penalties for their actions,” Shapiro said.

The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General sued M&B after the office received information from Amazon alleging that the online seller was selling 8-ounce pump bottles of Purell Advanced Formula Green Certified Hand Sanitizer at unlawful prices.

An Amazon spokesperson said teams monitor its stores 24 hours a day and have already removed more than a million offers for attempted price gouging.

“We are disappointed that bad actors are attempting to take advantage of this global health crisis and, in addition to removing these offers, have suspended more than 10,000 selling accounts,” company representatives wrote in an email to the Trib. “We have referred the most egregious offenders to federal and state law enforcement across the country to hold them accountable. We continue to actively monitor our store and remove offers that violate our policies.”

Gov. Tom Wolf’s declaration of disaster emergency provides rules against price gouging. Companies and vendors are prohibited from charging a price for goods and services that exceeds 20% of the average price at which they were sold in the seven days preceding March 6.

“It’s illegal to rip off Pennsylvanians during a pandemic, and we’re holding price gougers accountable,” Shapiro said. “During a time when millions are out of work and millions more are struggling to pay for food and medicine, playing off people’s fears to rip them off is wrong, and illegal.”

Consumers who purchased hand sanitizer from M&B on or after March 6, are encouraged to file a complaint with the Bureau of Consumer Protection, email scams@attorneygeneral.gov or call at 800-441-2555.

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