Well that didn’t take long. Matt Colvin, who angered thousands of people after the New York Times ran a story about him profiting off of selling hand sanitizer bottles for a high price amid the growing Coronavirus pandemic, has admitted to donating them to a local church and first responders. His website, appropriately titled mattcolvin.com, has changed all of its sections to reflect only his confession and nothing else. Reporterr Hunter Hoagland out of Tennessee, where Matt resides, shared a shocking video on Twitter on Wednesday, March 15, that showed the Attorney General’s office facilitating with the donation. What was even more surprising was that they had done this not once, not twice, but for the third time when he posted the clip.
Matt incited a ton of anger in his NYT profile when he admitted to purchasing over 17,700 bottles of hand sanitizer with his brother Noah Colvin and selling them at high prices to try and make a big profit. The former Air Force technical sergeant said he sold the items between $8 to $70, as did many other sellers, but Amazon and other similar sites like eBay were quick to act. Meanwhile, millions of desperate Americans have been finding shelves at supermarkets and pharmacies are all sold out of hand sanitizer as the death toll from the Coronavirus outbreak continues to rise.
The backlash was quick after the story was published as social media was lit up with harsh words and critiques for the brothers. “They are currently hoarding over 17,000 bottles of hand sanitizer. They should be prosecuted for gouging,” one angry tweet from @Maria_Emmm read. “Congratulations to Matt and Noah Colvin for securing their place in history as the most selfish ever. I hope you suffer from this despicable act,” @mock_duchess wrote.
HAPPENING NOW: Matt did not answer our calls so we went to his storage unit. The AG’s office was on the scene facilitating with the donation. This is the 3rd stop they’ve been to this morning to gather the sanitizer. @WRCB https://t.co/SLOaEwJLOj pic.twitter.com/REJPNhiSbS
— Hunter Hoagland (@HunterHoagland) March 15, 2020
A similar reaction was felt throughout the online world after he admitted to donating the hand sanitizer bottles. “Donation? So he’s not being paid for it? I hope that is correct. I don’t want this guy to even break even. Keep up the good work!”, Twitter user @jennypriscilla3 wrote.