Attorney General Miyares Fights to Protect Richmond Consumers Amid Water Crisis Price Gouging Probe

RICHMOND, Va. — Attorney General Jason Miyares today announced that his office has filed a petition in the Richmond City Circuit Court to compel JATTI LLC, doing business as Manchester Market, to comply with a Civil Investigative Demand (CID) issued in connection with an ongoing price gouging investigation stemming from the January 2025 Richmond water crisis.

“Virginians should never be exploited during a time of crisis,” said Attorney General Jason Miyares. “While families across Richmond were facing water shortages and struggling to access basic necessities, we received credible complaints that a business took advantage of that vulnerability to hike prices on bottled water. My office will continue to use every tool available to hold bad actors accountable and protect consumers.”

Governor Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency on January 3, 2025, in anticipation of severe winter weather that ultimately led to widespread power outages and associated water system failures throughout Richmond and surrounding localities. In response, Virginians were forced to rely heavily on bottled water as boil water advisories and service outages persisted for days.

After receiving consumer complaints alleging that Manchester Market charged unconscionable prices for bottled water during a declared state of emergency, the Office of the Attorney General attempted to obtain information voluntarily from Manchester Market to investigate these complaints.

When the business failed to produce the necessary information, the Office of the Attorney General issued a CID on March 21, 2025, requiring the business to produce documents relevant to its pricing practices during the emergency period. Manchester Market still has failed to respond to or provide the requested information.

The petition filed today asks the Court to enforce the CID and order Manchester Market to produce all documents and information related to the Attorney General’s investigation. The investigation is being conducted under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act (VCPA) and the Virginia Post-Disaster Anti-Price Gouging Act.

A copy of the petition can be found here.

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