Nebraska woman is charged with using VERY sneaky trick to pump 7,400 gallons of FREE gas worth $28,000 over six-month period
- Dawn Thompson, 45, has been charged with theft after allegedly exploiting a glitch that allowed her to pump free gas
- A second woman allegedly paid Thompson $500 for $700 worth of gas
- The fuel pumps at Pump & Pantry in Lincoln, Nebraska received a software update in November 2022 that caused the issue
A Nebraska woman has been arrested after allegedly using a sneaky trick to pump more than 2,000 gallons of gas for free over six months.
Dawn Thompson, 45, allegedly used a rewards card 510 times between November 2022 and June 2023, pumping 7,413.59 gallons of gas worth $27,860.27, according to the affidavit.
She allegedly exploited a pump glitch that allowed her to swipe a reward card twice, causing the pump to switch from normal mode to demo mode. From there she pumped free gas.
Employees at Pump & Pantry in Lincoln, Nebraska, first reported in June last year that someone was involved in “some type of fuel scam,” according to COAL.
During the investigation it emerged that the fuel pumps received a software update in November 2022 that caused the malfunction.
Dawn Thompson, 45, has been arrested after allegedly using a sneaky trick to pump more than 7,400 gallons of gas for free over six months at Pump & Pantry (pictured) in Lincoln, Nebraska
Thompson allegedly used a rewards card 510 times between November 2022 and June 2023, pumping 7,413.59 gallons of gas worth $27,860.27, according to the affidavit
Lincoln police received a call last October from a loss prevention manager at Bosselman Enterprise saying someone had participated in a fuel fraud scheme.
The manager discovered that the system update allowed people to put the pump in a demo mode and pump gas for free.
One card was consistently used to pump free gas, and surveillance footage also shows the woman filling up multiple times.
Authorities later identified Thompson, 45, by tracing the information on the card.
Between November 13, 2022 and June 1, 2023, Thompson’s rewards card was reportedly used 510 times, including multiple swipes on the same day.
Investigators also spoke to a second person who allegedly used the card last year. The unidentified woman claimed she paid Thompson for using the card to get a “discount on fuel.”
Employees at Pump & Pantry in Lincoln, Nebraska, first reported in June last year that someone was involved in ‘some type of fuel fraud’
Thompson allegedly took advantage of a pump glitch that allowed her to swipe a reward card twice, causing the pump to switch from normal mode to demo mode. From there she pumped free gas
She allegedly paid Thompson $500 for $700 worth of gas between 10 uses, the affidavit states.
According to the woman, Thompson sold the card sometime in June last year, before the pump failure was resolved on June 1.
During an interview, Thompson said she received the card as payment from a man paying off a car debt. The man died some time before January this year.
On Wednesday, Thompson was arrested at her home and charged with theft by unlawfully taking more than $5,000.
Her bond was set at $7,500 and her next court hearing is scheduled for April 11. It is unclear if she has entered a plea at this time.