Four Florida men hatched an elaborate scheme to lower the prices at multiple gas stations to combat the growing gas crisis.
According to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the suspect’s installed devices called “pulsators” inside gas station pumps. These devices regulate fuel price and flow, meaning that they send the price-per-gallon plummeting when operating correctly. This allowed the fraudsters to fill up their tanks nearly for free and even resell the gas they stole. The scheme was carried out at two Circle K locations in Lakeland and Lutz.
“It changes the price but keeps the gallons the same, so they can change the amount that they’re being charged down to a nickel or down or a penny a gallon, and they could pump 100 gallons,” president of the Florida Department of Agriculture, Ned Bowman said.
Fuel price hackers Rogelio Llerena and Yulier Garcia-Martinez were arrested on March 12th, filling up a large gas tank in Lakeland. Garcia-Martinez was busted with a remote device to control the pulsators. Tampa resident Yordian Diaz-Benitez was arrested on March 10th at a Lutz station for stealing diesel fuel. Marlon Rosel-Rodriguez was jailed two days later at the same location as he tried to place the device inside a pump.
With gas prices in Florida nearing $5 and other states such as California topping that price, Bowman said that officials should expect to see gas targeting fraudsters working overtime to get their fuel for cheap.
“I think you are going to see this expand,” Bowman stated.
Law enforcement agencies warn gas station owners to be vigilant and keep an eye out on large trucks stopped at gas pumps for long periods.
Across the country, gas thefts are being carried out in several different ways. In San Diego, multiple vehicles have been robbed of gas, with thieves dangerously drilling holes in car gas tanks. Thieves in Houston used a minivan with a unique trap door to steal nearly 1,000 gallons of diesel directly from tanks at a gas station over several days.
