Carlos Garcia, Gas Pump Skimming, Texas 2020

A Houston man has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for his role in a gas pump skimming scheme in Beaumont, Texas.

The scheme, which targeted credit card holders at the Gator's convenience store, netted over $1.2 million in unauthorized transactions, according to court documents.

Carlos Garcia, 36, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit access device (credit card) fraud on July 11, 2019, and was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Thad Heartfield on March 5, 2020.

According to the U.S. Attorney's office, Garcia was caught on Nov. 10, 2017, at the Gator's convenience store, where he was found with a credit card skimming device and a set of universal gas pump keys in his pocket.

A search of the area revealed that the skimming device had recorded 258 credit card account numbers without authorization, with many of the numbers belonging to Beaumont residents and businesses who frequently used the gasoline pumps.

Garcia and his co-conspirator, Alfredo Angel Almaguer-Almira, were indicted by a federal grand jury on Oct. 3, 2019. Almaguer-Almira pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison on Jan. 9, 2020.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the Beaumont Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert L. Rawls.

The total amount of unauthorized transactions totaled approximately $1.2 million, with the available credit on the 258 accounts totaling around $1.2 million, according to bank records.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edtx/pr/houston-man-sentenced-beaumont-gas-pump-skimming-scheme