SUMNER, Iowa -- A state consumer-protection lawsuit alleges that Pronto Market gas stations in Sumner and Fairbank, Iowa, "improperly and fraudulently" sold E85-blended ethanol fuel as either unleaded regular gasoline or 10% ethanol-blend fuel.
Jerry Fratzke is named as defendant in the lawsuit, doing business as Pronto Market. Fratzke owns Pronto Market convenience stores, with locations in Sumner and Fairbank and other locations.
The consumer-fraud lawsuit was filed by the state Attorney General's Office in Black Hawk County District Court in Waterloo, based on [image-nocss] investigation by the Weights & Measures Bureau of the Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship (IDALS).
Gasoline retailers can buy E85 blended fuel at substantially lower prices than regular unleaded or 10% ethanol blend fuel (often 30 to 45 cents lower per gallon) because of tax breaks and other incentives to promote E85, which contains 70% to 85% ethanol. The suit notes that E85 fuel can damage vehicles that do not have flex-fuel engines equipped to run on blended fuel.
The lawsuit, which was filed August 13, asked the court to enter an immediate temporary restraining order prohibiting the defendants from further sales of E85-blended ethanol fuel. Judge Jon C. Fister entered the temporary restraining order on August 13 and set the matter for hearing on September 22. The lawsuit also asks the Court to permanently prohibit further violations, order reimbursement to consumers and assess civil penalties up to $40,000 per violation.
Meanwhile, Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning filed charges in Burt County against a gas station owner and a distributor. A joint investigation between the AG's Office and the Nebraska Department of Agriculture's Division of Weights & Measures showed both people were involved in a scam where ethanol-blend gasoline was sold to customers at the higher unleaded price.
Tom Weise, who owns stations in Scribner (Scribner Express) and Decatur (Decatur Express), faces three counts of theft by deception, one count of criminal simulation and one count of deceptive advertising.
Tim Kaup is the general manager of the Sapp Bros distribution center in West Point. He is charged with aiding and abetting Weise in committing seven counts of theft by deception, one count criminal simulation and one count of deceptive advertising.
The investigation found that Kaup actively promoted the idea of selling ethanol-blended gasoline at unleaded prices to store owners, and Weise took him up on it. Allegedly, both men deceived customers for over a year.
Theft by deception is a class II misdemeanor with a penalty of up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Criminal simulation and deceptive advertising are class III misdemeanors punishable by up to three months in jail and $500 fine. Both Weise and Kaup will appear in Burt County Court in Tekamah on September 9.
And Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood announced last week the guilty plea of a Kiln resident for violating the state's Petroleum Products Inspection Law. Randy I. Koenenn, operator of Kodie's Junction in Kiln, entered a plea of guilty to two counts of imitation of a trade name in the Hancock County Justice Court before Judge Tommy Carver.
Carver fined Koenenn $500 dollars on each count for a total of $1000, plus court costs.
A routine inspection by the Agriculture Department led to Koenenn's arrest last month. Inspectors found that Koenenn was filling his gasoline holding tanks with 87 octane gasoline and selling it through his 89 octane and 93 octane pumps. This inspection led to an investigation by the Consumer Protection Division of the AG's Office.
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