Matt Colvin and his brother Noah hoarded nearly 18,000 bottles of hand sanitizer. Two weeks ago, they cleared store shelves at Walmart, Staples and Home Depot in Tennessee and Kentucky. The brothers then re-sold $1 bottles for as much as $70 each. (New York Times)
On Sunday, Colvin’s merchant accounts at eBay and Amazon were deactivated due to "profiteering in a pandemic." Unable to move product on those platforms, the Colvin brothers chose to donate the hand sanitizers to churches and first responders. They recruited a team of men to load U-Haul trucks with boxes and boxes from their three storage units. (The Tennessean)
The Tennessee Attorney General launched an investigation into price gouging. A spokesperson for the office said, (quote) “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.” (WRCB-TVNews)
When asked, Matt Colvin declined to apologize.