District Attorney sets-up hotline to report price gouging

The Riverside County District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation has set up a hotline number to report suspected price gouging during the state-of-emergency.

Call the DA's Consumer Protection Price Gouging Hotline at (951) 955-0764. Reports can also be made in Spanish at that number.

Price gouging may also be reported by submitting a complaint form found on the DA's website at this link: https://bit.ly/2WfQNID or at the state Attorney General’s Office website here: https://oag.ca.gov/contact/consumer-complaint-against-business-or-company.

You can also report price gouging by calling the state Attorney General's office at 800-952-5225.

According to the DA's office, those who price gouge are subject to criminal prosecution, which can result in a sentence of up to a year in county jail and/or fines up to $10,000.

Price gouging is when a person or business tries to take advantage of consumers by raising the prices of essential goods or services more than 10 percent during a declared state of emergency.

Essential goods and services include but are not limited to, things like food, water, food and water for pets, flashlights, medicine, sanitary products, toiletries, diapers, medical or emergency supplies, and lodging.

There also can be civil penalties including a fine of $5,000 per violation, restitution to the victim or victims, and a court order to stop.