Dozens charged for $3.4 million scheme to steal diesel fuel and sell it to trucking companies
New Jersey authorities announced that dozens of individuals and companies have been charged in connection with a sprawling scheme to steal diesel fuel from gas stations and resell it to trucking companies.
On January 16, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin charged 25 people and four companies with first-degree racketeering for their role in a diesel fuel theft enterprise that took place in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts and netted the suspects illicit profits of $3.4 million.
Officials say that the suspects used credit card skimmer devices to steal financial information, then created “cloned” cards that were used to make fraudulent fuel purchases. The ill-gotten diesel fuel was loaded into vehicles, some of which were modified to hold auxiliary tanks, and then transported to customers, including trucking companies and other fuel providers.
Authorities identified approximately 2,033 victims of the scheme between January 1, 2023, and July 20, 2024.
The investigation began in October 2023 when New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) received a tip from the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office and Gloucester Township Police Department about a suspected diesel theft ring operating in New Jersey.
Officials detailed the scheme reportedly uncovered during the course of the investigation:
“It is alleged that vehicles associated with the enterprise were outfitted with large fuel tanks, and parked in locations for members to access. High-ranking members, including Carlos Alvarez-Moreno and Javier Reyes Linares, allegedly gave drivers for the enterprise the locations where the vehicles were parked and the routes to travel to the locations of gas stations where they would fraudulently purchase diesel fuel using the cloned cards. Approximately 500 cloned cards were recovered from enterprise members during arrests by law enforcement. After purchasing the fuel, they would then deliver the fuel to trucking companies in exchange for payment. No member of the enterprise is registered with the state to sell diesel fuel.
It is alleged that enterprise vehicles traveled to multiple gas stations, where fraudulent transactions occurred, and then immediately drove to Glotrac Builders LLC (“GB”), a truck lot in Newark; A&A Truck Center; and other locations, to offload the fraudulently purchased diesel fuel. On numerous dates, the owners/operators of the customer-trucking companies were present, directing the drivers where to offload the fuel, from vehicles clearly not designed to lawfully transport fuel, including during late hours. For example, one of the enterprise vehicles that was rigged to transport fuel was an ice cream truck.
The investigation revealed that customers of the enterprise often used a peer-to-peer payment application to pay for the stolen diesel fuel. Along with payments received from trucking companies, members of the enterprise sent each other money after getting paid for the sale of the stolen diesel fuel. However, some transactions occurred in cash. GB paid for most of its deliveries in cash or through checks to shell corporations, and is allegedly the enterprise’s primary customer, receiving tens of thousands of gallons of stolen diesel fuel, which it sold to third-party truckers and trucking companies. GB paid the enterprise approximately $2.88 million for stolen fuel.“
Authorities further allege that the total profits from the scheme are suspected to be more than $3.4 million.
The suspects were identified by the New Jersey Attorney General as follows:
Leadership: Carlos Alvarez-Moreno
Management: Javier Reyes Linares
Management/Facilitation: Jonathan Gomez Soto, Manuel DeArmas Cortes, Frank Elias Fuentes-Martinez, Camilo Lopez Rodriguez, Sandy Gonzalez Gonzalez, and Brayan Vera Sanchez
Facilitators: Sury Saray Lopez, Venus Artiles-Avila, Julmir Hernandez, Neyelth Hurtado Ramirez, Luis Rodriguez-Perez, Willy Oses-Martin, Wilmay Carrasco Rodriguez, Santiago Cepero Diaz, Adrian Caciano, Jan-Carlos Mondejar-Gonzalez, Yansel Mas Ali, Luis Rodolfo Roque Silva, and Yoanzy Alfonso Diaz
Clients: Miguel Seixeiro, Joaquim “Jack” Seixeiro, Mauricio Calle Landin, Alberto Decena, Glotrac Builders LLC, Filpo Trucking Corp, A&A Truck Center Corp., and Kalle Trucking, LLC.
“These defendants allegedly developed a sophisticated system for stealing credit card information from unsuspecting victims and then used that information to make new, fraudulent cards, which they used to buy diesel fuel,” said Attorney General Platkin. “That fuel was then allegedly sold to trucking companies and other fuel providers. Working with our local law enforcement partners, we will always be on the lookout for financial frauds and protect the public from these schemes.”