A Williston man has turned over 87,000 units of personal protective gear as part of a settlement with the state.
A state lawyer termed Shelley Palmer’s actions “unconscionable.” Palmer believes he’s the target of a government “shakedown.”
In the end, the Williston man turned over the required total of nearly 87,000 units of personal protective equipment, valued at roughly $1 per item, or $87,000, to the state and Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin to resolve price-gouging claims.
“I managed to count it, box it, and deliver it,” Palmer said.
Charity Clark, chief of staff of the Vermont Attorney General’s Office, said she “can confirm that Mr. Palmer has delivered the agreed-upon PPE to CVMC and the state of Vermont.”
The attorney general’s office sued Palmer and his company, Big Brother Security Programs Inc., in the spring, alleging they had imported surgical masks that cost as little as 10 cents each, and then sold them to the hospital in Berlin for $2.50 each, a figure the lawsuit termed “unconscionable.” The settlement was reached earlier this month.
“You mean the extortion or shakedown,” Palmer said when asked about the deal he agreed to. “Paying them off was ultimately cheaper than playing their game.”
Attorney General TJ Donovan stood by the case.
“Price-gouging will not be tolerated in Vermont, especially during this historic pandemic,” Donovan said in a statement. “Protecting Vermonters, especially hospitals and medical professionals, from unfair practices involving medical equipment will remain a top priority for my office. I will continue to do all that I can to protect the Vermonters on the front lines of this pandemic so that they can continue to protect us.”
The settlement included a $15,000 fine, but it was suspended for inability to pay.
Instead, the deal called for Palmer to turn over personal protection equipment as restitution, settling claims he engaged in price-gouging in selling those products at “exorbitant” prices at a time when PPE was hard to find. The lawsuit alleged Palmer’s actions violated the Vermont Consumer Protection Act.
Terms of the agreement required Palmer give a total of 67,400 masks and face shields to Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin, and 10,000 masks to the state.
Palmer disputes that he paid only 10 cents per mask, saying that low figure was included in paperwork from China to avoid customs.
Asked how much he did pay per mask, Palmer replied, “A dollar.”
The attorney general office’s alleged Palmer sold the Berlin hospital sold 42,500 generic surgical masks for $2.50 each, for a total of $106,250.
“Meanwhile,” the lawsuit alleged, “defendants’ cost for the masks was $0.10 each, at a total cost of $4,250. This is a markup of 2,500%.”
In an interview, Palmer didn’t dispute that he sold the masks for $2.50, but maintained the markup was only from his purchase price of $1.
“The attorney general thinks that I’m a bad person because I’m a capitalist, which they don’t like,” he said. “Somehow I’m evil because I want to turn a profit.”
He said the hospital was willing to pay the $2.50 price per mask.
In late April, Judge Helen Toor had granted the state an injunction against Palmer, forbidding him from selling PPE at high prices.
Palmer has been in conflict with the state in the past, most notably in 2000 in a case that went to the Vermont Supreme Court. According to a SevenDays report, he lost his bail bondsman license for “profiting” from the sale of a home and vehicle that clients had used as collateral.
He said of the PPE settlement, “It was pre-Christmas and they needed to find a Grinch.”
