Scammers made $3.4 million from reselling diesel fuel obtained using stolen credit card info, N.J. attorney general says
Credit-card information was stolen from thousands of victims in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and other states using "skimming" devices installed at gas pumps, prosecutors said.
Criminal charges have been filed against alleged members of a sophisticated ring that collected $3.4 million in profits from reselling diesel fuel fraudulently purchased in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and other neighboring states using credit and debit card information stolen from thousands of victims, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced Thursday.
The sprawling investigation, led by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, originated in Gloucester Township, when police began looking into the “skimming” of credit and debit cards to illegally access funds to pay for large amounts of diesel fuel, Camden County Prosecutor Grace C. MacAulay said.
Investigators eventually learned that thousands of people in New Jersey and surrounding states had their credit card information stolen as part of the scheme, prosecutors said.
The alleged fraud ring also operated in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
Twenty-five people and four companies were charged with first-degree racketeering, and some of the defendants were charged with additional crimes.
Two defendants accused of being the top members of the conspiracy are Carlos Alvarez-Moreno, 30, and Javier Reyes Linares, 28, both of Elizabeth, N.J. Most of the other defendants are from New Jersey, and the remaining are from Florida and Texas.
An arrest warrant application for the defendants was filed Jan. 8 in Superior Court in Camden.
The participants in the scheme installed skimming devices at gas pumps to record credit and debit card information from unknowing victims trying to buy gas, prosecutors said.
Investigators learned that ring members allegedly possessed “master” keys that unlocked gas pumps, allowing them to install the skimmers on the inside of the machines and out of view of the victims. Prosecutors did not elaborate on how the defendants allegedly obtained the keys.
The stolen data was then used to create “cloned” cards to purchase the diesel fuel, prosecutors said. Approximately 500 cloned cards were allegedly recovered from the defendants during their arrests.
The arrest warrant application states that Alvarez-Moreno, described as the leader of the ring, and two others were previously arrested on Feb. 9 in Roxbury Township, N.J., and allegedly were in possession of a master key, a skimming device, a USB drive containing stolen credit card information from hundreds of victims, and two computers, including one with software to create cloned cards.
Ring members used various vehicles outfitted with large tanks to transport fuel, including an ice cream truck, prosecutors said. None of the defendants is registered in New Jersey to sell diesel fuel, prosecutors said.
The fuel was then taken to trucking companies and, on numerous occasions, the owners or operators of the companies were present to oversee the transactions from “vehicles clearly not designated to lawfully transport fuel,” prosecutors said.
Glotrac Builders LLC, a defendant company located in Newark, was the primary purchaser of the diesel fuel, prosecutors said. The company allegedly paid in cash or checks to shell companies approximately $2.88 million for tens of thousands of gallons and then resold the fuel to third-party trucks and trucking companies.
“This successful investigation is the result of intelligent police work, timely sharing of information, and the strong relationships that we have with our local, county, and state law enforcement partners,” Gloucester Township Police Chief David J. Harkins said in a statement.
Numerous law enforcement agencies helped with the investigation, including the Pennsylvania State Police and police departments in Bucks County, and Lancaster, Pa.