What to Know
- A Bergen County company admitted on Wednesday its role in price gouging a chain of New Jersey grocery stores in connection with the sale of KN95 masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to federal prosecutors.
- Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced that TSC Agency LLC, a logistics and freight forwarding company based in Mahwah, New Jersey, pleaded guilty by videoconference to price gouging in violation of the Defense Production Act.
- Allegedly, TSC sold these masks at a price of $5.25 per mask, a markup of more than 400% from its acquisition cost.
A Bergen County company admitted on Wednesday its role in price gouging a chain of New Jersey grocery stores in connection with the sale of KN95 masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to federal prosecutors.
Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced that TSC Agency LLC, a logistics and freight forwarding company based in Mahwah, New Jersey, pleaded guilty by videoconference to price gouging in violation of the Defense Production Act.
According to court documents, in March 2020, TSC and two partners purchased 250,000 KN95 filtering facepiece respirators from a foreign manufacturer and then sold 100,000 of these masks to a chain of New Jersey grocery stores at prices beyond market prices.
Allegedly, TSC sold these masks at a price of $5.25 per mask, a markup of more than 400% from its acquisition cost.
A violation of the Defense Production Act carries a maximum fine of $200,000, or twice the gross monetary gain collected from the offense, or twice the gross monetary loss experienced by any of the victims of the offense, whichever is greatest.
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Sentencing for TSC Agency is scheduled for April 13, 2022.
News
The COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force was established by the Attorney General on May 17 to combine the resources of the Department of Justice with agencies across the government in order to enhance efforts to prevent pandemic-related fraud.
