State investigators are looking into whether a gas station near Detroit Metro Airport in Romulus has been price gouging drivers.
Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office announced Tuesday, June 16, it was opening a price gouging investigation into a BP station at 9201 Middlebelt Road, near the edge of the airport. In a news release, Nessel’s office said it received consumer complaints in 2025 and 2026 about the station’s pricing. After an investigator paid $5.24 per gallon at the station April 9, the Attorney General’s Office said it has compiled price data showing the station routinely charging prices ranging from 22% to 72% higher than its competitors in recent weeks.
In a court filing submitted to Wayne County Circuit Court, state investigators wrote the station’s owner, M-Twelve Fuels, is taking advantage of drivers who entered into rental car agreements that mandate the car be returned with a full tank of gas.
“With the price of everything already squeezing families, the last thing Michiganders and our visitors who are rushing to return a rental car need is to be taken advantage of at the pump,” Nessel said in a statement.
The gas station is near the intersections of Middlebelt Road and Goddard Road, where many rental car agencies are located.
Gas prices have come into focus in recent months, particularly as the U.S. war in Iran resulted in the monthslong closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a global shipping lane critical to the oil trade. Although fuel costs have dropped in recent weeks as the U.S. and Iran have reached a deal to reopen the strait, drivers still face higher costs today than they did a year ago.
Nessel’s office is investigating the price gouging claims under the Michigan Consumer Protection Act, which bars individuals and businesses from charging prices “grossly in excess” of the costs for similar products.
Wayne County Circuit Judge Edward Ewell Jr. authorized a price gouging investigation, according to Nessel’s office. The agency said it has subpoenaed M-Twelve Fuels to determine its price-setting practices at other stations it operates to determine if the BP station near Detroit Metro Airport is violating the Consumer Protection Act.
The state issued a cease-and-desist order to the same BP station over its pricing in 2023, although Nessel’s office said the station was believed to be under different ownership at the time.
William Bazzi, who is listed as the operator of M-Twelve Fuels in the Attorney General Office’s complaint, said the company is working with the state to ensure compliance and declined further comment June 17.
BP didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
You can reach Arpan Lobo at alobo@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: AG Nessel investigates gas station near DTW over price gouging claims
Reporting by Arpan Lobo, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Arpan Lobo, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
