Jesus Enrique Gonzales Torres, Access Device Fraud, LA 2024

Jesus Enrique Gonzales Torres, 24, a Cuban national with ties to Florida, is going to federal prison for his role in a brazen credit card skimming operation targeting gas stations in the New Orleans area. Torres pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft, crimes rooted in high-tech theft and cold-blooded financial predation.

According to court records, in late July 2015, Torres and a crew of criminals traveled from Florida with the express purpose of planting card-skimming devices on fuel pumps. These hidden gadgets captured card data from unsuspecting drivers, which the group then used to produce counterfeit cards. They admitted to possessing a card encoding machine, an embossing machine, and a laptop loaded with stolen credit card information—tools of the digital underworld.

The arrest came months later, in April 2016, not in Louisiana, but in the Florida Strait. Torres and two co-defendants were intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard attempting to flee toward Cuba. They were already in custody on bond violations when caught—sealing their fate as flight risks. All three have remained detained since.

U.S. District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown handed down a 30-month prison sentence, followed by three years of supervised release. Torres was also ordered to pay $7,873.97 in restitution—jointly and severally with his co-conspirators—and a $100 special assessment. He is the first of six defendants to be sentenced in the sprawling fraud case.

The scheme reeked of organized precision. The defendants conspired to possess, produce, and traffic in more than 15 unauthorized or counterfeit access devices—equipment designed solely for criminal gain. From skimmers to data encoders, this was not petty theft. It was a calculated raid on American consumers’ wallets, built on deception and digital piracy.

U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite praised the investigative work of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Secret Service, and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hayden Brockett led the prosecution. The case underscores the federal crackdown on transnational fraud rings exploiting vulnerabilities in everyday transactions.

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