Coronavirus: Brothers who bought 17,700 bottles of hand sanitizer settle with Tennessee

The two men who drove around Tennessee and Kentucky buying all the hand sanitizer they could find have settled with authorities and will not be prosecuted for price gouging.

Matt and Noah Colvin made headlines at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. as they bought all of the hand sanitizers they could find in the two states the day after the first coronavirus death in the U.S. was announced, The New York Times said.

They had amassed 17,700 bottles, planning to sell the stash online.

>> Coronavirus: How to properly use masks and gloves

Matt Colvin told the Times last month that he had sold 300 bottles on Amazon for between $8 and $70 each.

Once his interview with the newspaper was published, his listings and those of thousands of other sellers were deleted by Amazon in an effort to stop people from price gouging and profiting from the nationwide scare, according to the Times.

Instead of prosecution, the Colvin brothers quickly donated their stock to people in the two states where they made the purchases.

The Tennessee attorney general this week said that was enough and will not charge or fine the brothers. They also agreed to not do it again during the coronavirus pandemic, WTVF reported.

>> Coronavirus: How to make fabric masks during COVID-19 pandemic

The Colvins, however, are still out the thousands of dollars they spent to make their purchases, the Times reported.

Tennessee has a law on the state books that prohibits individuals and businesses from charging inflated prices in response to a disaster, WTVF reported.

>> Coronavirus fact check: Is microwaving a fabric mask a good way to sanitize it?

The Colvins are not alone in allegedly trying to profit from the pandemic.

A man in the New York City borough of Brooklyn had 192,000 N95 respirators, 130,000 surgical masks and almost 600,000 medical-grade gloves. Officials took the man’s stash and gave it to medical workers in New York and New Jersey. The man was charged with lying to federal agents about price gouging. The man was accused of charging a doctor $12,000 for masks, gowns and hazmat gear. The FBI said it was a 700% markup, the Times reported.