Arrested:
Victor Mendoza Fonseca
White Male
DOB: 09/14/1991
Yasniel Rodriguez Hernandez
White Male
DOB: 12/29/1976
Details:
Two men were arrested on Monday night for using dozens of counterfeit credit cards to purchase fuel at gas stations throughout the state. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Economic Crimes Section obtained law enforcement intelligence from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and the Polk County Sheriff's Office regarding unknown suspects traveling throughout the state using stolen/fraudulent credit cards obtained through pump-installed skimmers to purchase large quantities of diesel fuel. A pattern of their route and schedule was developed by the FDLE and Circle K Loss Prevention Investigators.On Monday, April 1, at approximately 8 p.m., detectives with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office conducted surveillance at the Circle K gas station located at 9812 Gibsonton Drive in Gibsonton. The suspects were observed in a red Ford F-350 and a white Isuzu box truck arriving at the gas station and using a stolen credit card to fraudulently obtain diesel fuel. The diesel fuel was stored in tanks/bladders stored in the cargo areas of both vehicles.
Victor Mendoza Fonseca, 27, and Yasniel Rodriguez Hernandez, 42, were arrested. Fonseca was found in possession of 8 counterfeit/cloned credit cards and Hernandez was found in possession of 112 counterfeit/cloned credit cards.
Fonseca and Hernandez were each charged with Trafficking in Counterfeit Credit Cards and Fraudulently Obtaining Diesel Fuel/Unlawful Conveyance of Diesel Fuel. Further investigations will be conducted to identify the victims whose credit card information was obtained and encoded on cloned credit cards, and additional fraud and identity theft charges will follow.
