LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced a sweeping new executive order that targets price gouging in the retail sector.
Executive Order 2020-8 prevents individuals from re-selling products at higher prices than they were purchased from retailers. It also requires retailers not to offer any product at a price 20% higher than it was offered prior to March 9th. Residents who wish to report price gouging are encouraged to make a report of violations online or to call the Attorney General’s office at 877-765-8388.
In a statement, Gov. Whitmer said, “In these challenging times, we need to come together as Michiganders. This order will help protect consumers from price gouging. Additionally, I’m working jointly with the Attorney General to enforce these orders, to protect consumers, and to hold bad actors accountable. We will get through this together.”
Several Dearborn businesses have received letters from the office of the Michigan Attorney General indicating that they are being investigated for price gouging, however, the Yemeni American News is not publishing the names of those retailers until formal charges are announced from the office of Attorney General. When complaints are made by individuals, the office of attorney general may investigate but decline to prosecute, and therefore we won’t be putting information out that may harm a business’ reputation until some charges are announced.
The Yemeni American News will continue to publish updates related to business and retail fraud during the epidemic on our live blog here at www.yemeniamerican.com/covid19