CLOQUET, Minn. -- A man selling N95 respirator safety masks outside a grocery store lot along state Highway 33 wouldn't give his name on Sunday, March 15, but said he looked up whether he could price-gouge or not.

Selling 10- and 20-count boxes of masks for $50 and $99 out of the back of his minivan, he told a reporter, "I checked on it."

He declined to give any identifying details when interviewed around 1 p.m.

"Yes, I marked them up; you can't get them at Home Depot, or Menards, not anymore," he said. "I'm just selling what I have."

The man bought masks by the box at Home Depot more than a month ago, he said, after he was told by someone the masks were being sought after amid the spread of COVID-19 and ensuing pandemic.

"I'm a tradesman," he said. "I work on water treatment systems. I figured I better stock up."

Last week, warning against scams and opportunists, Attorney General Keith Ellison addressed coronavirus and profiteering.

"Not many people realize that Minnesota doesn't have a law against price gouging, as 30 other states do. I think we should," Ellison said. "I'm glad a bill to ban price-gouging has been introduced in the Minnesota House. I strongly encourage the Legislature to pass it as quickly as possible so that we can protect Minnesota consumers from these despicable practices. Although we can't legally fight price-gouging right now, the more people tell us about it, the more we'll be able advocate for a bill that will allow us to fight it."

Reminded of this, the man asked for the reporter's credentials, and said, "You're not going to get me in trouble, are you?"

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