Politics & Government

State Sues Farmingdale Gas Station in Sandy Price Gouging

Two other Farmingdale area stations agree to settlements in Attorney General's probe.

Joe Dowd's profile picture
Joe Dowd, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge

The state is suing a Farmingdale gas station, accusing it of price gouging in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman's office has also reached settlements with two other Farmingdale station as part of a larger probe into price gouging at Metropolitan Area gas stations in early November.

According to Scneiderman's office:

  • The state is suing Mena Inter Inc./USA Petroleum, located at 630 Main St., Farmingdale, claiming it was charging nearly $4.60 a gallon immediately following the storm, or about 76 cents (73 percent) a gallon more than it had charged before the storm.
  • The state has settled a claim out of court with JM Petroleum/BP, 1009 State Rte. 109 in Farmingdale. It charged $4.59 a gallon immediately following the storm, or about 72 cents (77 percent) a gallon more that it had before the storm.
  • The state has settled a claim with East End Marketing Corp, 235 Merritts Road, Farmingdale. It charged $4.32 a gallon after the storm, or 45 cents (41 percent) a gallon more than before the storm.
  • (All prices are for regular unleaded gasoline.)
“Six months ago this week, as New Yorkers were sitting in lines waiting for hours to buy critical supplies of gasoline, some shady business owners were trying to make a fast buck at their expense,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “Today, we are sending a powerful message that ripping off New Yorkers during a time of crisis is against the law and we will do everything in our power to hold them accountable.”

The state has reached settlements with 25 service stations in the New York area totaling $167,850. Investigations are pending against dozens of other gas stations.

Hundreds of complaints were lodged immediately after Sandy that some stations were changing prices at the pump overnight and several times a day. Stat law prohibits merchants from taking unfair advantage of consumers by selling goods or services for an "unconscionably excessive price" during natural disasters.

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Farmingdale