Lincoln woman got over $27,000 in free gas in months-long scheme, affidavit says

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A Lincoln woman was arrested this week after a months-long scheme to get free gas, court documents say.

In June, Pump & Pantry near Sun Valley Boulevard and O Street reported that a woman was involved in “some sort of fuel scam,” an arrest affidavit says.

During an investigation, a loss prevention manager learned the gas station changed the order in which customers swiped their payment cards and rewards cards.

But that caused a glitch that enabled people to use their rewards card instead of a credit or debit card.

When the rewards card was swiped twice, it switched the pump into a “demo mode,” allowing fuel to be pumped for free, the affidavit says.

The loss prevention manager found that the rewards card used in the reported “fuel scam” belonged to 45-year-old Dawn Thompson.

Between Nov. 13, 2022, and June 1, 2023, Thompson used the card 510 times to get 7,413.59 gallons of free gas, according to the affidavit.

Investigators estimated the value of the gas at $27,860.27.

Thompson was also using the card to sell “discounted fuel” to other people, according to the affidavit.

In one instance, a woman was paying Thompson $500 for about $700 worth of fuel.

On Jan. 18, investigators spoke with Thompson, who said a man gave her the rewards card.

Thompson said the man couldn’t be interviewed because he was dead, according to the affidavit.

Officers arrested Thompson at her home on Wednesday.  She was charged with felony theft.