TN brothers buy nearly 18,000 bottles of hand sanitizer to turn profit during coronavirus pandemic

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- After the first death from the novel coronavirus in the United States, Matt Colvin went state-to-state, clearing out the shelves stocked with hand sanitizer.

Colvin had around 18,000 unused bottles of the product lying around while people in his home state of Tennessee struggled to find any as fears surrounding COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, continued to rise.

Colvin told The New York Times that he tried to sell some for $70 a bottle. That same article reported Colvin sold 300 bottles at a markup on Amazon before the listings were removed.

The Tennessee Attorney General's Office has since ordered Colvin and his brother, Noah Colvin, to stop their resell operation as they investigated reports of price gouging.

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Wearing a shirt that reads "Family man - Family business," Colvin said it never occurred to him that other families would struggle because of a shortage. When asked if he felt sorry for his actions, Colvin told WRCB "No, I do not think that I would."

After getting backlash online, Colvin said he is making plans to donate the rest of the sanitizer. The website mattcolvin.com only reads "As of today 3/15/2020 all items referred to in the NYT article have been donated to a local church."