RUIDOSO, N.M. (KRQE) – While hundreds of home and business owners recover from the devastating Ruidoso-area wildfires, the state’s top prosecutor says some businesses are taking advantage of locals through “price-gouging.”
Wildfire Resources
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez made his message clear Wednesday: his office will go after businesses trying to take advantage of evacuees.
“In moments like this, in moments of crisis you see the best in people, you see what they’re made of, you see what kind of care and compassion they have for one another. Unfortunately in moments like this, it brings out the worst in people,” Torrez said.
“Individuals who might think this is an opportunity to take advantage of a community in need, that won’t be tolerated,” Torrez said.
In the days after the evacuation last week, Ruidoso residents told KRQE News 13 about the dire hotel situation in Roswell: “We got in line and it took us three hours to get down here. And we got down here, and there was not a room in this city. Every hotel was full,” said Lee Smith, Ruidoso evacuee.
A trend concerning local officials is price gouging—businesses dramatically raising rates to take advantage of people who need their services in the emergency.
“It has started to surface its roaring head of cheating people out of their hard-worked funds,” said Rafael “Rifle” Salas, Ruidoso Mayor Pro Tem.
Torrez is making it clear they won’t tolerate price gouging in hotels and retailers in Roswell, Alamogordo, and other surrounding communities. “We’ve had reports of price increases at hotels as far away as Albuquerque,” Torrez said.
His office is allocating attorneys and investigators to look into reports of price gouging, so local law enforcement can focus on recovery.
“We know that the predators will move in, and this is a welcome relief for us because we’re dealing with a lot of other issues and the recovery,” said Lincoln County Manager Randall Camp.
Torrez says his office is in it for the long term: “We have seen in other instances where the initial emergency has sort of passed, people start moving back into their homes, federal funds and state funds are distributed into a community and then you get a second wave of people coming in trying to engage in predatory behavior. That’s fly-by-night contractors, people who are making promises because they know there are funds available for people who are desperate to start rebuilding their lives.”
He said his office has the authority to help people recover money if evidence of price gouging is found: “The full force of the law is going to be focused on that activity and we will do everything we can and need to do to hold those folks accountable.”
Torrez said they’ve already gotten a report of hotel rate hikes in Roswell, which is where they’ll focus their investigations first.
To report price-gouging online:
Go to the NM Department of Justice’s website and fill out a complaint form
Call 505-490-4060, option 3
The NMDOJ said people who want to file a report should include:
Name and location of the businesses involved
Description of the suspected price going or fraudulent activity
Date and time of the incident
Any supporting documentation such as receipts, advertisements, or photos
