A member of a multi-state gas pump skimming device and fuel theft ring in Florida pleaded to charges.
United States Attorney Roger Handberg announced that 36-year-old Deonelky Tabares Cid, of Tampa, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy, four counts of wire fraud, six counts of access device fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
According to court documents, Cid and his co-conspirators worked together to install skimmers on gas pumps to include gas stations in Alabama, Louisiana, and Northern Florida, including the Florida Panhandle. The conspirators used the skimmers to illegally obtain credit and debit card account numbers involved with the purchase of fuel by customers at the gas pump. Using the account numbers stolen by the skimmers, they subsequently made counterfeit credit and debit cards and then, used them to purchase large amount of diesel fuel.
During the conspiracy, Cid and others drove vehicles that contained a fuel bladder system. This system allowed the conspirators to fake pumping gas into the vehicle’s gas tank when in fact the diesel fuel was being pumped into the fuel bladder system.
Analysis by law enforcement of fuel purchases, vehicle tracker data, gas station video surveillance, and real time surveillance of the conspirators determined that Cid and other conspirators drove to multiple case stations throughout Northern Florida.
After obtaining the gas, the conspirators offloaded the stolen fuel into 9,500-gallon tanker trucks at a fuel yard. The stolen fuel was then sold to a gas station associated with one of the co-conspirators.
Cid faces a minimum penalty of 2 years in federal prison on the count of aggravated identity theft, up to 20 years in federal prison on each count of wire fraud, up to 10 years in federal prison on each count of access device fraud, up to 5 years in federal prison on the conspiracy count, and payment of restitution to the victims he and his co-defendants defrauded. No sentencing date has been set.
The co-defendants, 29-year-old Luis Edel Trujillo Pena of Miami, 37-year-old Deyvis Hernandez of Miami, 32-year-old Luis Ernesto Vigil Ochoa of Miami, and 38-year-old Isvaldo Guerra Perdomo of Jacksonville, are set for trial in January 2025.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Florida Highway Patrol, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. General Services Administration – Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Secret Service – Jacksonville Field Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.
