Undercover sting targets NYC pharmacist allegedly hoarding coronavirus masks
Federal investigators say the masks were going for up to 15 times the normal price.
A New York City pharmacist is under investigation for “exploiting the present Covid-19 pandemic and engaging in price gouging,” according to a search warrant application unsealed earlier this week in federal court.
In early April, says the government filing, an informant contacted Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, with a tip that the retail pharmacist, Richard Schirripa, was selling personal protective equipment, or PPE, to New Yorkers at up to 15 times the regular price.
Some weeks earlier, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had established anti-hoarding measures for various “scarce” materials during the coronavirus pandemic. The list included, among other things, medical-grade PPE such as N95 respirator masks meant for doctors, nurses, and first responders. Around the same time, the Department of Justice announced the formation of a task force that would combat hoarding and price gouging.
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