3M, the largest maker of N95 face masks in the country, has sued another company for offering to sell New York City overpriced N95 masks for $45 million.
3M claims the company, New Jersey-based Performance Supply, wasn't authorized to distribute the masks, and had attempted to inflate the price of the masks at a more than 500% markup for New York. Performance Supply had offered them to the city on March 30 -- when the number of coronavirus cases had skyrocketed and hospitals struggled to give their workers protective equipment. The price: more than $6 a mask, according to the lawsuit. 3M sells the masks at a list price of just over $1.
The company's legal action dovetails with pushes from federal authorities and state governments to crack down on price gouging and other alleged fraud during the coronavirus pandemic.Read MorePerformance Supply has not yet responded to the allegations in court."3M has not increased the prices that it charges for 3M respirators as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
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