State of Alaska Accuses Online Respirator Seller of Price-Gouging

ANCHORAGE, Ala. — The State of Alaska has accused an online seller of engaging in a price gouging scheme to profit from the COVID-19 pandemic, saying he purchased thousands of respirators from retail stores and resold them on Amazon and eBay at grossly inflated prices.

In an April 1 complaint filed in the Alaska Superior Court at Anchorage, the state says the seller, Juan Aune, “created a shortage of respirators in local stores, which harmed local consumers and businesses,” and also harmed purchasers who paid unconscionable prices in order to obtain respirators from his online store, Spazzylab.

Beginning in February, …