Carr Penalizes Hurricane Helene Price Gougers in Augusta and Vidalia

ATLANTA, GA - Attorney General Chris Carr today announced that his office has reached settlements with Augusta-based Smile Grocery, formerly known as Pope's Grocery, and Vidalia-based Dhruv 1995 LLC d/b/a Fast Break II ("Fast Break II") over allegations that the companies engaged in price gouging during the declared state of emergency related to Hurricane Helene. As part of the settlements, the companies made payments to the state as follows: Smile Grocery paid $10,000 and Fast Break II paid $7,255.

"Following the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, we promised Georgians that we would take action to address any allegations of price gouging or fraud, and that's exactly what we have done," said Carr. "When you're impacted by a major storm, you shouldn't have to worry about being scammed by businesses that are trying to exploit the crisis. We'll make sure the law is enforced, consumers are protected, and any business that seeks to take advantage of hardworking Georgians is held accountable."

In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division received numerous complaints from consumers that the Smile Grocery gas station was overcharging for gas. The office also received complaints about the gas prices that Fast Break II was charging consumers. The Consumer Protection Division launched investigations in response to those complaints and based on the findings of those investigations, the Attorney General alleges that both businesses violated the Fair Business Practices Act by engaging in price gouging during a declared state of emergency.

To resolve these allegations, the businesses have entered into settlements with the Attorney General's Office in which they have agreed not to advertise, offer to sell, and/or sell any good or service identified by the Governor in a declaration of a state of emergency at a price higher than the price at which such goods or services were sold or offered for sale immediately prior to the declaration of the state of emergency unless such increase accurately reflects an increase in cost of the goods or services to the businesses or an increase in the cost of transporting the goods or services into the area.