Man Pleads Guilty To Face Mask Price-Gouging In NY

A New York man pled guilty on Friday, March 5, to hoarding personal protective equipment at the start of the coronavirus pandemic and then selling it, sometimes at a 500% markup, online and at his pizzeria, attempting to profit off the global crisis in violation of the Defense Production Act of 1950, reported Law360.

Imran Selcuk, 35, admitted to purchasing about 100,000 KN95 facemasks and 25,000 surgical-style facemasks from abroad in March 2020 for US$1 each and 50 cents each, respectively, pleading guilty on Friday to a single misdemeanor charge of price-gouging.

Selcuk’s attorney, Nicholas J. Evanovich III of LaMarche Safranko Law, told Law360 on Friday that Selcuk is “remorseful,” noting that Selcuk only sold about 500 units of PPE.

In his plea agreement filed late last month, Selcuk admitted to selling the masks, sometimes at a markup, online and at a pizzeria he owns in Troy, New York.

Selcuk further admitted that on May 5, KN95 masks were available for purchase at his pizzeria for US$10 per mask. He also tried to unload the masks on eBay, only to be blocked by the online marketplace because of price-gouging concerns, according to the plea agreement.

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