Pennsylvania is among about 40 states that prohibit price gouging during crises or times of high demand, but it seems as if that does not deter some businesses from doing it anyway.

State Attorney General Josh Shapiro reports that his office has received more than 1,800 complaints about price gouging since the coronavirus crisis began. So far, he said, his office has issued more than 70 cease-and-desist orders. In most instances, he said the letters have had the desired effect, and prices were restored to their pre-pandemic levels, unless the product itself is priced higher to the retailer because of supply issues.

Price gouging is the practice of charging outrageous prices for essential items during times of high demand.

Shapiro’s office investigated reports of one store selling a six-pack of toilet paper, a case of bottled water and disinfectant wipes for $15 each.

In Pennsylvania, the anti-price-gouging law triggers after the governor issues an emergency order, which Gov. Tom Wolf did earlier this month. As a result of this declaration, businesses cannot raise prices more than 20% above the price of the commodity the week before the order. Offenders face steep fines - up to $10,000.

Shapiro said that of the price-gouging reports upon which his office has received and acted, two have been in Lehighton, two were in Lehigh County and one in Northampton County.

In addition, a Monroe County resident said she has just filed a complaint with Shapiro’s office complaining that alcohol swabs that were $1 a box last month were $4 last week at an area Walmart store.

Although Shapiro did not name the businesses to which the cease-and-desist orders were sent, he said one was to a store in Lehighton which was charging $9.99 for a six-pack of toilet paper. The other was sent to another Lehighton store which was selling a gallon of orange juice for $7.77.

At an Allentown farmers market, Shapiro said, cases of water were being sold for $7.99 each, while at a Whitehall convenience store, a bottle of hand sanitizer was being sold for $10 a bottle. A Bethlehem restaurant was cited for selling cases of spring water for $16.99 each. Shapiro said his office also cited a chain department store in Bensalem, Bucks County, and a store in Philadelphia for selling hand sanitizer for $19.99 a bottle.

“I’m grateful to everyone for reporting their concerns to our office,” Shapiro said. “During these uncertain times, taking advantage of consumers in need of cleaning supplies and paper products is not only outrageous, it’s illegal.” He urged consumers to “stay vigilant and to report them to pricegouging@attorneygeneral.gov.”

The U.S. Justice Department announced it is activating a central fraud hotline - 866-720-5721 or disaster@leo.gov - and has ordered U.S. attorneys across the nation to appoint special coronavirus fraud coordinators.

Aside from in-store price gouging, consumers also are finding mind-numbing prices on popular online sites. Third-party sellers on Walmart.com and amazon.com were offering some hard-to-get products at eye-popping prices.

Connecticut’s Attorney General William Tong wants information from Amazon “regarding efforts to detect and combat price gouging during the covid-19 pandemic.” Tong said that among hundreds of complaints, one Amazon shopper said he was charged $400 in shipment fees for two boxes of face masks that sold for less than $100 by a third-party seller.

Then there are the radio host charlatans to whom cease-and-desist orders were issued by New York state because of false claims. Former televangelist Jim Bakker was pushing treatments with silver particles, while conspiracy theorist and Infowars host Alex Jones was advertising toothpastes, creams and other so-called curative products.

Greed is an insidious motivator, but it is inexcusable to prey on a vulnerable population in such perilous times in order to make an easy buck.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com