Mississippi Hotel Slapped With Price Gouging Fine

Mississippi Laurel The price hike goes back to Hurricane Katrina. The hotel's owners will no fork over more than $20000

by The Associated Press

Published: Fri, September 26, 2008 - 9:03 am CST Last Updated: Fri, September 26, 2008 - 9:10 am CST

LAUREL, Miss. (AP) - The owners of a Laurel hotel will pay more
than $20,000 in fines, penalties and other costs involving a price
gouging case related to Hurricane Katrina.
Representatives for A.B.N.K. Incorporated, which owns the
41-room Econo Lodge, pleaded no contest Wednesday in Jones County
Justice Court to one count misdemeanor price gouging.
Under a no-contest plea, a person doesn't refute the charge or
charges, but doesn't admit guilt.
In April, a Jones County grand jury returned a 15-count
indictment against the owners of the Econo Lodge.
Judge David Lyons ordered the company to pay a maximum $1,000
fine, provide another $1,000 to the Crime Victims Compensation Fund
and pay court costs.
In addition, the attorney general's office reached a separate
agreement with the company to pay $3,648 in restitution, $4,850
investigative costs, and a civil penalty of $10,000.
The amount the company increased the room rates was unavailable.

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rosepetal Says:

Fri, Sep 26, 2008 at 12:18 pm

mustuknow, thank you. i agree its the ones higher up and that makes me mad.

mustuknow Says:

Fri, Sep 26, 2008 at 12:11 pm

Nope didn’t know there was such a law. I do not mind paying the station owner for their gas, it is the big oil that I have a problem paying. Most of your independent station owners work long hard hours trying to make a dollar and not get it stolen from them by some gun slinging thug and in the process get keep from getting shot. Personally I would not work in a gas station or convenience store this day in time, people will have so little regard for human life and will kill you for enough money for a rock of crack. Bless all those who do have to work these type jobs and the station owners who have to try and make a buck to support their families.

rosepetal Says:

Fri, Sep 26, 2008 at 11:57 am

i have that problem with my fingers also. i am having to type over cats. hey i would like to get to the bottom of this. did you know alabama law requires a station owner to sell gas for at least a 6 cent a gallon profit.

mustuknow Says:

Fri, Sep 26, 2008 at 11:49 am

yeah, sorry about that. My fingers got to typing faster than my brain was thinking. These stories of price gouging just tick me off severely and it aggravates me that there is no standard for judges to go by in fining these people, they just draw numbers out of a hat. This was a hasty piece of legislation that needs some fine tuning. JMO

rosepetal Says:

Fri, Sep 26, 2008 at 11:19 am

mustuknow, do you mean fuel supplier?

mustuknow Says:

Fri, Sep 26, 2008 at 11:08 am

This is a joke. One of our local Oil Companies which owns a couple gas stations locally here in Mississippi near the Laurel area were also charged with price gouging during Katrina and they had to pay a couple hundred thousand dollars in fines. I think if they are going to fine one for price gouging they should fine them all and it should be a set amount for each offense. This crap of pulling a number out of a hat for fines for price gouging is just as bad as the price gouging itself.

rosepetal Says:

Fri, Sep 26, 2008 at 10:40 am

glad they made them pay.