Durbin Presses DOJ To Ensure Online Retail Marketplaces Are Combating Fraud And Price Gouging During COVID-19 Pandemic
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today participated in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on fraudulent activities during the COVID-19 pandemic and how the Department of Justice (DOJ) is responding to those exploiting the pandemic for financial gain. Durbin asked about efforts to combat COVID-19-related price-gouging and fraud and what the DOJ’s COVID-19 Hoarding and Price Gouging Task Force (Task Force) is doing to address it. Durbin pressed DOJ’s Task Force leader, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito, to ensure that online retail marketplaces, such as Amazon, Facebook, and eBay, are acting responsibly by providing transparency on any fraudulent or price-gouging activity from sellers on their platforms.
“What kind of cooperation are you getting from Amazon, Facebook, and eBay when it comes to those who are using the internet to sell products that are misrepresenting their health qualities or applications to COVID-19?” Durbin said. “I’ve introduced a bill with Senator Cassidy, the INFORM Act, that gets to the bottom line here. Amazon, Facebook, and eBay have to disclose when there is the obvious sale in their marketplace of goods that are stolen or being misrepresented to the consumers of America.”
Durbin also urged DOJ to step up efforts to investigate fraudulent applications to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) that have taken federal funding opportunities away from legitimate small businesses in need of relief during the pandemic.
“In your testimony, you’ve identified six prosecutions under the PPP so far. Four and a half million loans have been issued so far. So let me ask you: are you just getting started?” Durbin said. “I certainly hope whatever you do, you continue this effort, but do it more publicly with more volume, calling attention to it. This exploitation, that’s spelled out in your testimony, of six is almost laughable.”
Video of Durbin’s questions in Committee is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s questions in Committee is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s questions in Committee is available here for TV Stations.
Last week, Durbin requested updated information from the DOJ Task Force about the current prevalence of COVID-19-related price-gouging activity and the steps that are being taken to address it. In a letter to Task Force leader Carpenito, Durbin requested more information on how the DOJ Task Force is working to investigate and prevent price-gouging involving personal protective equipment, medical supplies, sanitizer and cleaning products, household necessities, and more. Durbin also asked for information about the Task Force’s coordination with other federal, state, and local agencies, and about efforts to address profiteers who take advantage of the lack of transparency on online third-party marketplaces to avoid scrutiny and accountability.
In March, Durbin and U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) introduced legislation to deter the online sale of stolen, counterfeit, price-gouged, and dangerous consumer products by ensuring transparency of high-volume third-party sellers in online retail marketplaces. The Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers (INFORM Consumers) Act would direct online retail marketplaces that host third-party sellers of consumer products to authenticate the identity of high-volume sellers and ensure that consumers can see basic identification and contact information for these sellers. The bill would also ensure that online marketplaces provide consumers with a mechanism for flagging suspicious marketplace activities, such as price-gouging, by high-volume third party sellers.
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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today participated in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on fraudulent activities during the COVID-19 pandemic and how the Department of Justice (DOJ) is responding to those exploiting the pandemic for financial gain. Durbin asked about efforts to combat COVID-19-related price-gouging and fraud and what the DOJ’s COVID-19 Hoarding and Price Gouging Task Force (Task Force) is doing to address it. Durbin pressed DOJ’s Task Force leader, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito, to ensure that online retail marketplaces, such as Amazon, Facebook, and eBay, are acting responsibly by providing transparency on any fraudulent or price-gouging activity from sellers on their platforms.
“What kind of cooperation are you getting from Amazon, Facebook, and eBay when it comes to those who are using the internet to sell products that are misrepresenting their health qualities or applications to COVID-19?” Durbin said. “I’ve introduced a bill with Senator Cassidy, the INFORM Act, that gets to the bottom line here. Amazon, Facebook, and eBay have to disclose when there is the obvious sale in their marketplace of goods that are stolen or being misrepresented to the consumers of America.”
Durbin also urged DOJ to step up efforts to investigate fraudulent applications to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) that have taken federal funding opportunities away from legitimate small businesses in need of relief during the pandemic.
“In your testimony, you’ve identified six prosecutions under the PPP so far. Four and a half million loans have been issued so far. So let me ask you: are you just getting started?” Durbin said. “I certainly hope whatever you do, you continue this effort, but do it more publicly with more volume, calling attention to it. This exploitation, that’s spelled out in your testimony, of six is almost laughable.”
Video of Durbin’s questions in Committee is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s questions in Committee is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s questions in Committee is available here for TV Stations.
Last week, Durbin requested updated information from the DOJ Task Force about the current prevalence of COVID-19-related price-gouging activity and the steps that are being taken to address it. In a letter to Task Force leader Carpenito, Durbin requested more information on how the DOJ Task Force is working to investigate and prevent price-gouging involving personal protective equipment, medical supplies, sanitizer and cleaning products, household necessities, and more. Durbin also asked for information about the Task Force’s coordination with other federal, state, and local agencies, and about efforts to address profiteers who take advantage of the lack of transparency on online third-party marketplaces to avoid scrutiny and accountability.
In March, Durbin and U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) introduced legislation to deter the online sale of stolen, counterfeit, price-gouged, and dangerous consumer products by ensuring transparency of high-volume third-party sellers in online retail marketplaces. The Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers (INFORM Consumers) Act would direct online retail marketplaces that host third-party sellers of consumer products to authenticate the identity of high-volume sellers and ensure that consumers can see basic identification and contact information for these sellers. The bill would also ensure that online marketplaces provide consumers with a mechanism for flagging suspicious marketplace activities, such as price-gouging, by high-volume third party sellers.
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