Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning has filed charges in Burt County against a gas station owner and a distributor alleging that they were involved in a scam in which ethanol-blended gasoline was sold to consumers for higher unleaded prices.

The charges are the result of a joint investigation between the attorney general’s office and the Nebraska Department of Agriculture’s Division of Weights and Measures.

Bruning says his office received 90 complaints in which consumers believed they were deceived into paying higher prices. The investigation is ongoing and Bruning is looking into at least a dozen more stations.

“Gas prices are high, times are tough and Nebraskans ought to get what they pay for," says Bruning.

Tom Wiese, who owns gas stations in Scribner (Scribner Express) and Decatur (Decatur Express), faces three counts of theft by deception, one count of criminal simulation and one count of deceptive advertising.

Tim Kaup, general manager of the Sapp Bros Distribution Center in West Point, is charged with aiding and abetting Weise in committing seven counts of theft by deception, one count criminal simulation and one count of deceptive advertising.

The investigation found that Kaup actively promoted the idea of selling ethanol-blended gasoline at unleaded prices to store owners and Weise took him up on it. Officials say both men deceived customers out of $3,000 to $30,000 for more than a year.

"Five gallons at the slowest setting on the handle.” It's Brian Heskin's job with the Weights and Measures Division to make sure gas stations are up to standard and there's a long list each station must measure up to once a year, including the amount a pump pumps.

"Big thing that everybody wants that the calibrations are correct to make certain that what you're paying for is what you get." Heskin also tests for the amount of ethanol in the ethanol-blend gas, but also the non-ethanol gas to make sure stations aren't cheating us.

Not every gas station follows the rules. "Our investigators, along with Weights and Measures saw the beginning of a trend, people who pumped and purchased what they thought was unleaded gas when what they really got was ethanol-blend gas," says Bruning.

Theft by deception is a class II misdemeanor with a penalty of up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Criminal simulation and deceptive advertising are class III misdemeanors punishable by up to three months in jail and a $500 fine.

Bruning believes they should be felonies, but Nebraska law does not allow for that. He plans to ask the Nebraska Legislature to change the law.

Channel 6 News tried to contact Wiese and Sapp Brothers for a comment, but neither returned our calls. Bruning says his office is not sure if Sapp Brothers management knew what was going on. His office plans to to talk to them.

Drivers in Nebraska aren't the only ones who may have unwillingly filled up with an ethanol-blend. Iowa's attorney general has filed a lawsuit against the owner of Pronto Markets.

The company is accused of disguising e85 as unleaded gas at stations in Sumner and Fairbank.

According to the suit, at least 2,500 gallons of e85 was ordered between March and June even though Pronto Markets has no specific tanks to store it.