TULSA, Okla. -- Oklahoma attorney general W.A. Drew Edmondson has accused Mohammed Mannan, 38, of Tulsa with gasoline price gouging during the December ice storms after an investigation by the AG's Consumer Protection Unit.
Mannan, the owner and operator of the M&F Mart, was charged in Tulsa County District Court with three misdemeanor counts of violating the Oklahoma Emergency Price Stabilization Act.
The charges were filed after three consumers contacted the AG's office to report that the price of gasoline at a station owned by Mannan jumped from $2.69 to $3.29 after a state [image-nocss] of emergency was declared in December.
"Under Oklahoma law, once an emergency has been declared business owners can not artificially raise the price of necessary goods and services more than 10% above the pre-emergency price," Edmondson said. "Based on the pre-emergency price of $2.69, the maximum increase allowed by law once the declaration was issued was 26 cents. Mr. Mannan allegedly raised his price by 60 cents."
If convicted, Mannan could face up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine for each count.
The AG's office received 90 consumer calls and 39 formal complaints regarding price gouging following the December ice storms. The complaints include prices on hotel rooms, gasoline and generators. "We will continue to investigate these complaints on a case-by-case basis," Edmondson said.
Meanwhile, in Georgia, inspectors with the state Department of Agriculture have locked all fuel pumps at two Kingsland truckstops: Cisco Travel Plaza No. 1 at Exit 1 and Cisco Travel Plaza No. 2 at Exit 6 on Interstate 95. "The pumps have been locked because they were shorting customers by not delivering enough gasoline," said Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin.
Inspectors with the Department of Agriculture's Fuel & Measures Section arrived at the truckstops this morning and began checking the pumps. They found the seals on the pumps had been broken. Preliminary indications are that the pumps may have been tampered with, but the investigation is still ongoing.
The investigation follows an anonymous tip to the department and several consumer calls. The pumps will remain locked until all problems have been corrected and the Department of Agriculture gives clearance.
"I will be calling the owner of these stations in for a settlement conference. Depending on the outcome of the investigation and settlement conference, the department may impose civil fines or other punishments," said Irvin. "This case may also involve criminal charges," he added.
He told First Coast News that this may be one of the worst cases of shorting gasoline customers that he has seen since he took office in 1969. "Looks very suspicious to me," Irvin told the newspaper. "Substantial shortage, too. Every pump. That means somebody's manipulating them."
That the inspector found the same issue at a second location is a strong sign that it is no accident, he added.
Irvin said that when the pumps showed five gallons, the inspector's test tanks were more than a quart short.
Fines could reach $1,000 for every gasoline customer allegedly cheated by these stations, said Irvin.
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