Shark Tank star Daymond John is accused of trying to take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic by hiking the market price of face masks.
Hiking the price of essential products that are in short supply is known as price gouging. It is illegal and punishable by prison time and a hefty fine.
According to the Miami Herald, John tried to hawk N95 face masks for $7 million.
John, CEO of the Shark Group, offered to sell the masks at $7 each – more than three times the market rate per mask.
“This was not somebody off the street, this was Daymond John,” said Jared Moskowitz, director of the state Department of Emergency Management.
“He came to me and said, ‘I’ve been in the clothing business. I have connections with factories in China,'” Moskowitz told the newspaper.
Desperate to get the supplies, the state agreed to pay John $7 million for 1 million face masks, the Miami herald reported.
The state signed the purchase order on March 25 with the law firm, Foley & Lardner handling the transaction, according to the paper.
By mid-April, the multi-million-dollar deal fell through, as John was unable to deliver the masks.
“Many people were duped,” Moskowitz said.
Shark Group’s deal is among many fraudulent deals being investigated by the 3M company for price gouging, the Herald reported.
A rep for Shark Group did not respond to the newspaper’s request for comment.
