In February of 2008, the Nebraska Department of Weights & Measures inspected the Shell Timesaver station No. 7, owned by R&C Petroleum. The station was found to have a higher concentration of ethanol in its E10 fuel pumps than what the law allows, said the report. The discovery led to a short-term [image-nocss] closure of the station until the illegal product was pumped out and replaced by true E10 fuel.
The station was found to have as much as 16% of ethanol in its E10 advertised pumps. The additional ethanol mixture allowed the station to gain a higher profit by using a cheaper fuel mixture while charging for what was advertised.
The North Platte incident came on the end of an August 2007 investigation that accused two other North Platte stations with violating Nebraska's Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Those two stations eventually settled with the attorney general's office, the report said, which culminated in similar donations.
A Telegraph investigation later discovered that the Timesaver incident was the beginning of a statewide inspection practice that was catching as many as four gas stations a week cheating their customers in a variety of manners, according to the newspaper.
Division administrator for weights and measures Steve Malone told the Telegraph during that investigation that previously the department relied solely on complaints, but initiated the new investigative policy to check all stations in the state. The results were "alarming," he said, and Bruning pledged to prosecute.
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The agreement with Timesaver, much like the agreement with the two previous North Platte stations, stated that the settlement agreement is not an admission of guilt. The owner of the Timesaver station, Todd Schwindt, has agreed to pay $32,000 to three charitable organizations in North Platte, the report said.
Owners of the Valero Diamond Shamrock in Kearney have also settled with the AG's office for $61,800 to charitable organizations in Kearney, as well as $5,000 to the Consumer Protection Fund for legal fees, the report added.
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