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**UPDATE: As of 4:00 p.m. on September 17, the Attorney General's Office had received 2,397 complaints about gasoline price gouging related to Hurricane Ike.**

TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum today released the following statement regarding his office’s ongoing investigations into allegations of gasoline price gouging:

“Today, investigators with my Economic Crimes Division are reviewing the 186 complaints we have received about gasoline price gouging in multiple locations throughout the state. The investigators have been contacting station owners and requesting documentation on the nature of the price increases to determine whether the increases in costs being passed along to consumers are justifiable.

“Our investigations will continue, and I encourage Floridians to stay vigilant and keep reporting complaints to my office. This information from consumers is essential to our investigators as they work to ensure businesses are not taking advantage of our consumers. Price gouging should be reported to my hotline, 1-866-966-7226.

“I also want to remind businesses that price gouging is prohibited during a declared state of emergency and that violations of Florida’s price gouging statute can result in penalties of $1,000 per incident, up to $25,000 per day. The Attorney General’s Office does not take allegations of price gouging lightly and my investigators will continue addressing each and every complaint throughout the weekend and into next week.”