Three men from Miami, Florida, have been sentenced to a combined 71 months in federal prison for running a credit card skimming operation targeting gas stations across Tennessee. Jorge Vazquez Cedeno, 49; Pedro Luis Cabale, 48; and Pedro Alexander Cabello Cabale, 32, were caught red-handed with devices used to steal financial data, cash, and thousands of compromised credit card numbers.
The bust came on February 15, 2017, when a West Tennessee Judicial Violent Crime and Drug Task Force agent pulled over a white Toyota Sienna van in Memphis. Cedeno, the driver, consented to a search — a decision that unraveled the entire scheme. Inside the vehicle, law enforcement found 59 gift and credit cards, 23 of which had been fraudulently re-encoded with stolen data from magnetic strips.
Agents also seized five ribbon cables — the kind used to clone credit card information from compromised gas pumps — along with what appeared to be master keys designed to access fuel dispensers. The group carried $10,460 in cash, a strong indicator of ongoing criminal enterprise. Two laptops were recovered, one containing 4,781 stolen credit card numbers tied to 268 financial institutions.
The fallout was massive. Capital One, Chase, Citibank, and Wells Fargo collectively lost $95,256.42 due to fraudulent transactions linked to the compromised cards. Each number represented a victim — a consumer whose financial security was violated by a cold, calculated theft operation run from the passenger seat of a rental van.
The defendants were sentenced as follows: Jorge Vazquez Cedeno, 49, Miami, Florida — 28 months; Pedro Luis Cabale, 48, Miami, Florida — 28 months; and Pedro Alexander Cabello Cabale, 32, Miami, Florida — 15 months. All were convicted of possession of 15 or more counterfeit or unauthorized access devices, a federal felony carrying stiff penalties.
The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service, Collierville Police Department, and the West Tennessee Judicial Violent Crime and Drug Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dean DeCandia prosecuted the case for the government, sending a clear message: skimming operations may seem low-profile, but they’ll be met with maximum federal force.
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Key Facts
- State: Tennessee
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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