Brothers Accused Of Price Gouging Donate 18,000 Bottles Of Hand Sanitizer To Church

Brothers Matt and Noah Colvin, of Hixson, Tennessee, were accused of price gouging after they allegedly tried to profit on demand for hand sanitizers caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A day after the first coronavirus death in the United States was announced on March 1, the brothers set out on an SUV to pick up hand sanitizers. Driving around Chattanooga, Tenn, the brothers cleaned out the shelves of various stores like Wallmart, Staples and Home Depot.

Noah then made a 1,300-mile road trip across Tennessee and Kentucky to buy 17,700 bottles of hand sanitizer and thousands of packs of antibacterial wipes over the next few days, while Matt listed these bottles online on Amazon and eBay. He listed 300 bottles, with every bottle sold at prices between $8 and $70 each.

Just a day after Amazon and eBay closed their price gouging attempts over complaints, the Colvin brothers received a cease-and-desist letter from the Tennessee Attorney General’s office. General Herbert Slatery, Tennessee attorney general, ordered the brothers to “stop buying and selling medical goods and products.”

"We will not tolerate price gouging in this time of exceptional need, and we will take aggressive action to stop it,” said Slatery in a statement.

According to local reports, boxes were seized and taken out on Sunday from Matt’s home and a storage unit. The recovered supplies were then donated to a nearby church and also sent to Kentucky, where the brothers had bought some of the stock from.

“I just want to make clear that donating the sanitizers does not mean they are off the hook legally. If evidence establishes they engaged in price gouging, we will seek appropriate penalties,” said Samantha Fisher of the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office.

Matt had initially refused to apologize, saying he wasn’t trying to take advantage of people during an emergency and also that he did not anticipate a possible shortage of sanitizer. However, he later apologized after he and his family started receiving death threats when the story caused a public outcry on social media.

It was not clear what charged the brothers may face.

The anti-price-gouging law was in place in the state making it unlawful for individuals to charge unreasonable prices for essential goods. The attorney general’s office has the power to stop any confirmed price gouging attempts and provide refunds to affected consumers. Civil penalties will be imposed against price gougers for every violation. The law applies to all levels of the supply chain from manufacturer to distributor to retailer.

Slatery has asked the public to report anyone who engages in price gouging during this period of crisis.