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Lawsuit Filed Against Ohio Man Accused Of Price Gouging For N95 Masks
By: Jo Ingles | Statehouse News Bureau
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CLEVELAND, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — The state has filed a lawsuit against a Cleveland-area man for hoarding personal protective equipment that is sorely needed by health care workers fighting coronavirus.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost says Mario Salwan and some others sold N95 respirator masks on eBay for nearly 18 times the retail price. Yost has filed a suit, saying Salwan violated Ohio’s antitrust law as well as the Consumer Sales Practices Act, and it’s not the only case being pursued.
“It is not getting better out there and yes, we are going after additional people,” Yost says.
The lawsuit says an ER nurse tried to get Salwan to change his prices, and he responded by saying she and her doctor husband should work for free during the crisis. The state is asking Salwan to be forced to surrender all of the N95 masks for reasonable compensation.