PARK RIDGE—The Park Ridge Police Department posted on July 2 that it had received complaints that a local gas station attendant was fraudulently charging customers by inflating gasoline charges when receiving fuel. It was alleged that the attendant would manually charge more money via credit card then actually pumped. If the motorist noticed the discrepancy in price, the attendant would pretend it was an accidental mistake and remedy the situation by giving a cash refund for the difference.
The Park Ridge Detective Bureau investigated the matter and subsequently charged a 30-year-old male from Westwood. The attendant was charged with one count of 2C:20-4 (theft by deception, a disorderly persons offense).
PRPD said in a statement shared with Pascack Press, “We remind citizens to always be aware of the refueling process and watch the final price and final charge on your credit card. Based on our investigation, we believe the owner of the local gas station was unaware that the attendant was defrauding motorists. The attendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. We thank the citizens who came forward to report this issue.”