Pandemic Darlings The pandemic economy, in original documents
Home Source documents Attorney General Memo on COVID-19 Price Gouging Task Force

Attorney General Memo on COVID-19 Price Gouging Task Force

Archived source: Dl D5a0355acf372cea. Captured from www.justice.gov.

Cited in: Craig Carpenito

Full text

                                          March 24, 2020



     MEMORANDUM FOR ALL HEADS OF DEPARTMENT COMPONENTS AND LAW
              ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES

                      ALL UNITED STATES ATTORNEYS



     FROM:            THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

     SUBJECT:         Department of Justice COVID-19 Hoarding and Price Gouging Task Force

        Thank you again for your tremendous service to our nation during the present crisis. Each
week brings new challenges, but I am confident that the Department of Justice will continue to
perform its critical mission during these difficult times. Last week, I addressed a number of early
reports concerning criminals seeking to exploit the current panic and economic dislocation. I am
now issuing this Memorandum to advise you of a recent Executive Order signed by the President
that is relevant to our work, and to direct the creation of a task force charged with addressing
hoarding and price gouging associated with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

I.     AUTHORITIES TO PUNISH WRONGDOING RELATED TO COVID-19

       To protect the safety and security of our nation during the current crisis, the Department
must remain vigilant in deterring, detecting, investigating, and prosecuting wrongdoing related to
the COVID-19 pandemic. While this crisis has brought out the best in most Americans, there
appear to be a few unfortunate exceptions. We will not tolerate bad actors who treat the crisis as
an opportunity to get rich quick.

        We are beginning to receive reports of individuals using the crisis to hoard vital medical
items and then make inappropriate, windfall profits at the expense of public safety and the health
and welfare of our fellow citizens. Hoarding and price gouging activities inhibit the government,
health care professionals, and the public from implementing critical measures to save lives and
mitigate the spread of the virus. These practices also make it harder for our healthcare providers
and first responders to resist the spread of COVID-19.
Memorandum from the Attorney General                                                           Page 2
Subject: Department of Justice COVID-19 Hoarding and Price Gouging Task Force


        Yesterday, the President gave us another tool to fight misconduct by issuing an Executive
Order pursuant to section 102 of the Defense Production Act, which prohibits hoarding of
designated items. The order authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) to
protect scarce healthcare and medical items by designating particular items as protected under the
statute. Once an item is designated, the statute makes it a crime for any person to accumulate that
item either (1) in excess of his or her reasonable needs or (2) for the purpose of selling it in excess
of prevailing market prices. See 50 U.S.C. §§ 4512, 4513. We will work closely with the HHS
Secretary as he designates scarce items. And where appropriate, the Department will investigate
and prosecute those who acquire vital medical supplies in excess of what they would reasonably
use or for the purpose of charging exorbitant prices to the healthcare workers and hospitals who
need them. We will also work closely with the Administrator of FEMA in exercising his authority
under the Stafford Act to seize necessary healthcare and medical items, where appropriate, and to
redeploy them to the people who need them most.

        This does not mean that the Department will pursue regular Americans who are stocking
up on the necessities of daily life or businesses acquiring materials reasonably needed for their
own use. Nor will we take action against the manufacturers or suppliers who are working with the
government and with healthcare providers in an effort to combat this crisis. But we will
aggressively pursue bad actors who amass critical supplies either far beyond what they could use
or for the purpose of profiteering. Scarce medical supplies need to be going to hospitals for
immediate use in care, not to warehouses for later overcharging.

II.    COVID-19 HOARDING AND PRICE GOUGING TASK FORCE

        During this crisis, we must marshal our resources to protect the American people.
Accordingly, I am directing the immediate creation of a task force to address COVID-19-related
market manipulation, hoarding, and price gouging. The task force will develop effective
enforcement measures, best practices, work closely with HHS as they designate particular items
and equipment, and coordinate nationwide investigation and prosecution of these illicit activities.
The task force will be led by Craig Carpenito, the United States Attorney in the District of New
Jersey, with assistance as needed from the Antitrust Division’s Criminal Program. Each United
States Attorney’s Office, as well as relevant Department components, are directed to designate an
experienced attorney to serve as a member of the task force.

        We must do the best we can to protect Americans’ rights and safety in this novel and
troubling time. I thank you all for your service to this country.

File and source

File
dl_d5a0355acf372cea.pdf
Size
414,985 bytes
SHA-256
d0d007714c71ec543d214857ce85474e2a9cad1ed5d98e325e1eeccfaddb3442
Our copy
dl_d5a0355acf372cea.pdf
Original
www.justice.gov
Back to top