Bay Area grocery store owner 'flagrantly' price gouged customers at the start of the COVID pandemic
A Bay Area grocery store owner pled guilty last Wednesday to two counts of "flagrant" price gouging after officials found that items in the shop were marked up by up to 300%.
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One item, priced at $2.99 just two days before Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on March 4, 2020, cost $4.99. Days later, it was raised to $7.
A produce item was marked up from 49 cents a pound to $1.99, a 306 percent markup, within the weeks before and after Newsom's declaration.
Thai hot chilis, Maggi noodles, loose teabags, yellow onions and pomegranates were among the items listed as part of the price gouging complaint.
The store, one shopper claimed, charged “whatever they want” in the days following the state of emergency.
“Witnesses reported prices being removed or crossed out on the shelves and employees telling them the prices are what they are when scanned at check out,” read the initial May complaint.
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/2021-04-Bay-Area-grocery-Apna-flagrant-price-gouge-16114975.php?IPID=SFGate-HP-CP-Spotlight
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