Georgia Gas stations cheated customers, DA says

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KINGSLAND, GA -- The fuel's still flowing at the Cisco Travel Plazas, but state-appointed lawyers are now running the pumps and seizing the profits.

A superior court judge has ordered an Atlanta-based attorney to take over all three Camden County gas stations with "Cisco" in their names: two at Interstate 95's exit 6 and one at exit 1.

That attorney, or "receiver," is seizing all of the assets of the 24 companies and people who have owned the stations at various times since 2000.

State inspectors closed two of the three stations last month after tests showed customers weren't getting all of the gas they paid for. The two Travel Plazas' new owners are cooperating fully, the state says, and investigators' eyes are closely fixed on past owners, dating back eight years.

"It's very important that people have confidence... as expensive as gas is today, that you're getting what you pay for," said District Attorney Stephen Kelley.

Kelley asked for the dramatic step -- seizing pumps, property, and bank accounts without warning -- so no one could spend it away or hide it.

"The receiver's a professional who has done this many times," Kelley said. "They come in and oversee all assets, preserve them, put them into an account, [and then] report back to the judge."

If a state investigation does find years of cheated customers, Kelley hopes the seized assets can be turned into massive refunds.

"You obviously have the potential for innocent owners," among the 24 entities named in the order, Kelley cautioned. "Juries might have to decide who's innocent and who's not."

Kelley says the state-appointed attorneys are under orders to run the stations well, selling gas and seizing profits, until a hearing next month can settle on what happens next.

The man whose name is on all three seized stations is the first person named in the judge's order. Fairley Cisco, who no longer owns any of the stations, has a history of cheating his customers. He spent time in federal prison for rolling back odometers on cars he was selling.

Another prior owner, Kuldeep Sekhon, missed a court appearance in Missouri this week and, according to Kelley, is missing.

If you think you were cheated at one of those stations, what can you do? The Georgia Department of Agriculture says there's no procedure in place at the moment to make a claim.

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