A second round of price gouging lawsuits has been filed against 10 more New Jersey businesses in the wake of hurricane Sandy.

The businesses accused of illegally overcharging consumers during the state of emergency include seven hotels and three more gas stations, bringing the total number of suits filed to 18. In some instances the hotels increased their rates by more than 200 percent.  State Attorney General Jeff Chiesa says he wants the message to be clear; citizens of this state will not be taken advantage of.

“Its inexplicable to me and I think its inexplicable to most people that businesses would prey on the desperation of people that live here, people that were just trying to get their families to a warm dry spot for  a few days while their power got turned back on. “

Chiesa says these businesses could face fines of up to 20 thousand dollars for each offense.