The state is suing a Chagrin Falls man who is accused of selling masks for 18 times their retail price.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in a news release that he filed the suit against Mario F. Salwan, along with his co-conspirators, for hoarding and then upselling the supplies during the shortage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the lawsuit, Salwan and others operated an online store on eBay under the now defunct username "Donkey476." He said the group saw an opportunity and began to acquire N-95 masks, hand sanitizer and toilet paper.

"There’s another word for donkey that immediately comes to mind when thinking about these folks," Yost said in a news release. "We will continue to take action against anyone else in this state price gouging during this pandemic."

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According to the lawsuit, the defendants acquired more than 1,200 N-95 masks. On March 28, they started selling the masks in packs of 10 for an average of more than $36 per mask. The lawsuit said 15 packages of the masks were sold for between $360 and $375 per pack.

Before the state of emergency was declared in Ohio, the lawsuit said N-95 masks were typically sold for about $2 per mask.

On March 28, an emergency room nurse, whose husband is an emergency room physician, reached out to the defendant and urged him to reconsider his prices, given the desperate need for the PPE. Salwan responded with "You and your husband should work for free during this crisis, you are greedy!"

Yost is seeking a temporary restraining order on the sale of the masks, and is asking the court to make Salwan and co-defendants surrender all of their N-95 masks to the state in exchange for reasonable compensation.

Reach Akron Beacon Journal reporter Sean McDonnell at smcdonnell@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3186.