Opportunists looking to profit off superstorm Sandy are advertising gasoline for as high as $20 a gallon on the black market after the storm crippled the ability for some tankers to pump gasoline and deliver it to stations in the Northeast, some of which are still powerless.

A former insurance adjuster who now works as a contractor in Brooklyn told ABCNews.com he stocked up on 500 gallons of gas before Sandy hit. He has since sold his entire inventory.

"I was able to sell everything for $11 a gallon. I probably could have gouged people for twenty bucks and they would have paid it," he said.

Handfuls of advertisements have popped up on Craigslist offering gas at prices as high as $20 per gallon and empty gas cans, which are scarce, at prices ranging from $40 to as high as $500.

New York Attorney General Eric Schniederman announced today his office is investigating post-Sandy price gouging after receiving a slew of complaints. However it remained unclear if any of the cases would be prosecuted or whether private individuals looking to cash in could also face prosecution.

Jeff Lamm, spokesperson for the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, said investigators are aware of private gougers and they plan to go after them since they likely "don't have a fuel license," he told ABCNews.com.


ABCNews.com found the Brooklyn contractor through an advertisement on Craigslist in which he offered to sell empty five gallon gas cans for $40 a piece.

"I don't need to hear that I'm a crook. People should have been prepared," he said. "I had some people irate and mad but they [have] got to understand I saw what happened in Katrina and Rita. Even though they have these federal agencies, you've got to be ready on your own. You can't depend on nobody."

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