Virginia AG says price-gouging claim against Timberlake Citgo settled

Virginia’s attorney general says his office has settled a price-gouging claim against a company that runs a Citgo station on Timberlake Road.

The complaint alleged that the Citgo station violated the state’s Post-Disaster Anti-Price Gouging Act by charging atypically high prices for gas in September 2008, when Hurricane Ike led Gov. Timothy Kaine to declare a state of emergency.

Attorney General William Mims said in a news release that the station charged $5.399 a gallon on Sept. 12 and 13, a 55 percent hike over its Sept. 8 price of $3.479.

As part of the settlement, Chamberlayne Enterprises Inc., which owns the station, must set aside $200 for consumer restitution, pay $1,500 to reimburse Virginia for its costs and pay $500 to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, Mims said.