Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen Announces Judgment Against John Rassbach in St. Croix County

MADISON — Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced today that the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) has obtained a civil judgment in the amount of $109,396.55 against John Rassbach of Glenwood City, WI, resulting from fraudulent billing of customers of his fuel products business (Rassbach Oil Company). Mr. Rassbach is currently serving a four-year prison sentence stemming from his 2010 conviction of 14 counts of theft or attempted theft in connection with his fraudulent over-billing of his customers.

The state alleged that Mr. Rassbach defrauded his customers in a variety of ways: (1) by physically “shorting” diesel or gasoline customers by pumping a portion of the fuel back into his delivery truck; (2) by falsifying propane delivery invoices to overstate the amount of propane delivered; and (3) by charging multiple customers for the same fuel delivery by issuing duplicate false fuel delivery tickets.

The judgment, entered on June 4, 2012, awards the state $109,396.55, representing the amount of Mr. Rassbach's overcharging of his customers between February and September 2008. Any money collected from Mr. Rassbach by the state will be returned to customers who purchased fuel during this time period. The state has a list of all consumers entitled to restitution, and will contact them in the event there are funds recovered under the judgment. Consumers with questions about the judgment can call the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) at 1-800-422-7128.

The case was the result of an investigation conducted by DATCP agents in the Weights and Measures Section, which referred the matter to the DOJ. Assistant Attorney General John Greene represents the state in this case.

A copy of the Decision and Order is available at the following link: