A New York City pharmacist is under investigation for “exploiting the present Covid-19 pandemic and engaging in price gouging,” according to a search warrant application unsealed earlier this week in federal court.
本周早些时候，联邦法院公布了一份搜查令申请，要调查一位纽约市的药剂师，因其“利用当前的新冠疫情牟利，涉嫌哄抬物价”。
In early April, says the government filing, an informant contacted Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, with a tip that the retail pharmacist, Richard Schirripa, was selling personal protective equipment, or PPE, to New Yorkers at up to 15 times the regular price.
政府文件中说，4月初，一位举报者联系国土安全调查局，就是美国国土安全部的调查机构，说零售药店的药剂师Richard Schirripa正在向纽约市民出售个人防护用品，价格是平时的15倍之多。
Some weeks earlier, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had established anti-hoarding measures for various “scarce” materials during the coronavirus pandemic. The list included, among other things, medical-grade PPE such as N95 respirator masks meant for doctors, nurses, and first responders. Around the same time, the Department of Justice announced the formation of a task force that would combat hoarding and price gouging.
几周前美国卫生与公众服务部出台了针对新冠疫情期间各种“短缺”物资的反囤积措施。物资清单中包括医疗级个人防护用品，如医生、护士和急救人员用的N95口罩。同时美国司法部宣布组建工作队打击囤积和哄抬物价的行为。
Since then, New York City has become the pandemic’s epicenter, with more than 6,000 coronavirus-related deaths to date. Healthcare workers in the city have struggled to source enough PPE, resorting to reusing disposable face masks and wearing garbage bags for protection. This past Friday, N95 manufacturer 3M filed a federal lawsuit against a New Jersey company it says tried to sell the masks for six times the usual amount.
从那以后，纽约市就成为了疫情中心区，目前已有超过6,000新冠死亡病例。该市的医护人员防护用品不足，只能重复使用口罩，身穿垃圾袋进行防护。上周五，N95口罩的生产商3M公司对一家新泽西州的公司提起联邦诉讼，称该公司这些口罩的售价是平常的六倍。
On April 4, 2020, an undercover HSI agent called Schirripa and asked about buying face masks. According to the warrant application, Schirripa told the “customer” he was selling surgical-grade N95 masks for $22 each, and commercial-grade N95 masks for $15. They both typically retail for less than $1.50 apiece.
2020年4月4日，一家国土安全调查局秘密机构打电话给Schirripa，询问买口罩的事。搜查令中说，Schirripa告诉“顾客”他在卖的外科N95口罩售价为每个22美元，工业级的N95口罩售价为每个15美元，这两类口罩平时的零售单价都不到1.5美元。
“[W]hen you have something no one else has, it’s not a high price,” Schirripa explained, adding that his masks were expensive because “you can’t get them.”
Schirripa解释说：“你有的东西别人没有，就不算高价。”他还补充说他的口罩贵是因为“你们弄不到”。
