DETROIT, MI -- Wayne County officials have recovered more than $280,000 in overcharges paid for gasoline and diesel fuel over the past four years, according to the Detroit Free Press. Inspector General David Esper determined that Waterfront Petroleum Co. of Detroit had increased the per-price gallon of fuel without authorization. The company was awarded a contract in 2000 for motor oils at a price of about 15 cents per gallon. But the company invoiced the county at a mark-up rate of about 63 cents per gallon, Esper said in a report last year. In a recent settlement, Wayne County received the full amount of the overcharge, $280,668. The settlement covers April 1, 2000, through March 31, 2001. Waterfront said it agreed to pay the money to avoid costly litigation, but denied that it overcharged the county, according to the settlement.