Bellport wholesaler will pay $100G for pandemic price-gouging: AG
A can of Lysol disinfectant spray is seen in this photo. Credit: NurPhoto via Getty Images/NurPhoto
A Bellport-based wholesale grocery and drug distributor accused of price-gouging for increasing the prices of some Lysol products by more than 50% during the early days of the pandemic will pay the state $100,000, according to New York State Attorney General Letitia James's office.
In a news release issued Monday, Quality King Distributors Inc. was accused of illegally increasing prices for Lysol, including sprays and wipes — violating New York's price-gouging statute that aims to prevent companies from hiking prices on essential goods during emergencies.
A spokesperson for Quality King could not be reached for comment.
Lysol was among the disinfectant products consumers were advised to use after the outbreak of the pandemic to decontaminate surfaces to curtail the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
According to the release, consumers in New York City and Long Island reported the high prices to the attorney general's office. A subsequent investigation of local retailers found that many were raising prices on Lysol because they incurred significantly higher prices from Quality King.
"Quality King raised prices dramatically in the early months of 2020," the release said. It gave as an example, in February 2020, Quality King sold 19-ounce cans of Lysol for $5.20 a can, then five weeks later increased the price to $8 a can, a 54% increase.
In another example in February 2020, Quality King sold 12-can Lysol cases to a dollar store on the Lower East Side for about $5 a can. Then, when the store ordered more from Quality King in early April 2020, the price shot up to $9.08 a can, nearly double.
"As we were grappling with fear and uncertainty in the early days of the pandemic, Quality King took advantage of New Yorkers and jacked up prices on essential products," James said in the release. "We are putting money back into consumers' pockets and requiring Quality King to clean up its act."
Quality King will pay the $100,000 to New York within 30 days, the release said, with $20,000 to be paid in penalties.
The nearly 1,500 New Yorkers who filed complaints with James' office will each receive reimbursement checks of about $10.
The agreement settles an earlier lawsuit against Quality King, James's office said.
