Oklahoma Station Owner Charged with Price Gouging

02/12/2008 - A Tulsa man is accused today of price gouging during the December ice storms after an investigation by the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Unit.

Mohammed Mannan, 38, was charged today in Tulsa County District Court with three misdemeanor counts of violating the Oklahoma Emergency Price Stabilization Act.

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The charges were filed after three consumers contacted the attorney general’s office to report that the price of gas at a station owned by Mannan jumped from $2.69 to $3.29 after a state of emergency was declared in December.

Mannan is the owner and operator of the M&F Mart located at 3025 S. Memorial in Tulsa.

“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 percent above the pre-emergency price,” Attorney General Drew 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 attorney general’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. “There may well be additional cases filed.”

Source: Oklahoma Attorney General