Friday, 8 may, prosecutors said the couple «greedy» store owners from Queens has increased the price of surgical masks, taking advantage of the fact that customers desperately need protection from the pandemic.
Resident of College point 49-year-old Tae Kyung Kim and resident Bayside 61-year-old Jeong soo Lee was charged that they overcharged and broke the codes of the Department of consumer Affairs of the city relating to the prices of basic goods and services during a national crisis.
According to the district attorney of Queens Melinda Katz, the police under the guise of visiting a grocery store Raspberry Farm on 14th Ave. in Whitestone, found that surgical masks, which typically cost $1 apiece, there are sold at too high prices.
«Unfortunately, the outbreak of coronavirus inspired by greed and manipulation. We are still in the midst of a crisis, and people are still dying every day from COVID-19, says Katz. We are actively looking for people and companies that took the real fears of people during the pandemic in order to line their own pockets».
Wednesday, may 6, the police came to the store at different times, noticed that two masks KF94 was on sale for $10 and a box of 10 masks KN95 can be bought for $45.
The police also seized 24 boxes with 10 masks KN95, 35 boxes of 50 disposable face masks, 153 separate set of masks for the face and KF94 67 dust-proof masks, which were sold at inflated prices.
According to a recently adopted city Ordinance, stores are not allowed to raise prices for essential goods by more than 10% «during the imminent threat to public safety.»
