By Anna Driver and Nandita Bose
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) has started asking customers to cooperate with a Department of Justice criminal investigation of third-party sellers on its e-commerce marketplace, according to an email seen by Reuters.
The company is informing customers, who may have purchased products from such sellers, according to the email sent by Joell Parks, a senior law enforcement response specialist at Amazon.
It was not immediately clear if the probe is tied to sellers taking advantage of the spreading coronavirus and engaging in price gouging on the retailer's platform.
In recent weeks, Amazon has come under pressure from lawmakers to nab such sellers.
On Wednesday, four lawmakers, including House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler and David Cicilline, antitrust subcommittee chairman, sent a letter to the Justice Department asking the agency to investigate the matter.
Earlier this month, the company said it is working with state attorneys general to identify and prosecute such third-party sellers and has restricted the type of merchants who can sell health and sanitation items on its website. https://reut.rs/2x9dQul
"We wanted to notify you directly about this matter in the event that you are contacted by the Department of Justice in connection with its investigation," Parks said in his email, which was sent to a Reuters editor who is also an Amazon customer.
Despite these steps, consumer advocacy groups said they have spotted listings of essential items with unusual price spikes on the website.
It was also not clear if the probe would deal with more than two dozen people who were charged in a federal court in Dallas for being part of a crime ring in which thieves shoplifted goods from stores across the United States and sold them on Amazon.
The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.