An enterprising Northern Virginia man may have figured out a way to pump a bundle of cash out of climbing gas prices.
Police say Phillip Harris, 23, of Spotsylvania County, routinely snuck into a Woodbridge gas station after it closed for the day and sold off gas to his friends for a mere $2 a gallon, in a scheme they say netted more than $25,000.
Prince William County police charged Harris on Thursday with opening the pumps at the station outside Potomac Mills Mall and selling more than $50,000 of fuel for cash in a scheme that may date back to January.
Since May alone, store owner Sarvan Rapaval told The Examiner he had lost 7,000 gallons. He couldn’t put his finger on the source, saying, “I was losing fuel daily.”
Harris, who never worked at the station, reportedly took a device that allowed him to tap into the pumps, police said. Unbeknownst to station managers, he would routinely hook it up when the shop was closed and charge drivers about half price.
“We close Monday to Thursday around 9 p.m. He would come around 9:30 or later and he would use a device to open the pump,” Rapaval said. “He would charge $2 a gallon.”
When police received an anonymous tip, they began a stakeout and arrested Harris a few days later, police spokeswoman 1st Sgt. Kim Chinn said Monday.
Harris faces charges of grand larceny and opening pumps to dispense gasoline and is awaiting a July 30 court date, police said.
Such thefts occasionally happen, including one last year in Baltimore, but tend to be isolated, said Paul Fiore, director of government affairs for the Washington Maryland Delaware Service Station and Automotive Repair Association.
“When gas prices are higher, what’s stolen becomes so much more expensive,” he said.
By cracking down on the minor drive-away thefts and requiring pre-payment at most pumps, service stations have limited theft in the last decade. But technology has created opportunities for new scams.
“What you have to be on the lookout for are cars lining up at one pump, especially during slow times or after hours,” Fiore said.
