Neb. woman facing charge for free gas loophole

A 45-year-old Nebraska woman is facing a criminal charge for allegedly using a loophole to steal more than 7,000 gallons of gas worth more than $27,000, according to media reports.

The woman is accused of improperly using her rewards card from Pump and Pantry in Lincoln, Nebraska, at least 510 times over six months, KOLNTV reported.

There’s usually nothing wrong with using a rewards card, but police say the woman took advantage of a software update from November 2022 that managed orders and rewards cards at the fuel pump, the TV station said.

Unbeknownst to Bosselman Enterprise, owner of Pump and Pantry, the update was allowing anyone who swiped their rewards card twice to switch the gas pump from regular mode to demo mode, WILX-TV reported. While in demo mode, free gas can be administered, the outlet said.

In addition to using the rewards card 510 times, she’s accused of being paid to give her card to a woman for free gas, WILX-TV reported. The woman allegedly paid $500 for $700 worth of gas from the rewards member.

Lincoln police say they caught the woman in the act when they checked surveillance footage and saw her pumping gas into her car several times, according to WILX-TV.

She told Lincoln detectives that a man paying off a car debt gave her the rewards card instead of money, WILXTV reported. Police could not contact the man because he died in January.

Lincoln police believe the woman had been getting free gas from Nov. 13, 2022, to June 1, 2023, KOLN-TV reported. Investigators say the woman got 7,413.59 gallons of free gasoline, which the station manager said cost him $27,860.27 in losses. The woman was arrested March 6 on a theft charge and given a $7,500 bond, KOLN said.