6 Accused in Cheap-Gas Scheme

[January 22, 2008]  SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- A gas station clerk is accused of defrauding her boss out of nearly $50,000 by selling fuel to her family and friends for a tenth of a penny a gallon.

Police arrested 25-year-old Madeline Jordan on Sunday -- along with her mother, brother, a cousin and two others -- after setting up a sting at the BP station in South Charleston.

The station's owner told police last week he had noticed a significant drop in his income and found receipts that listed the deeply discounted rate.

Police alleged that for several months Jordan, of Nitro, had reset the price at the pumps every Sunday morning and allowed people she knew to fill up.

There was no immediate word if any of the six had secured attorneys to speak for them. The Kanawha County Courthouse was closed Monday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., and calls to the South Charleston Police Department were not answered.

[Associated Press]

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