COOPER CITY, FLA. (WSVN) - Police have arrested a man allegedly involved in a South Florida gas scam.
Rolando Casanova was arrested at an Orion Fuels gas station on Stirling Road in Cooper City, Wednesday morning, accused of an intricate gas scam.
Detectives from the Broward Sheriff’s Office watched Casanova use different cards and pump diesel into a flatbed truck. The truck was re-configured with hidden compartments to hold hundreds of gallons of fuel, police said.
“My partner and I pulled up. We were watching it, and it looked like a fuel truck. This particular gas station has been hit several times,” BSO Detective Ryan Zimber said. “As we walked up on him, he tried to throw the extra wallet with all of the cards inside it on the ground.”
The cards were all Starbucks gift cards with ZIP codes written on the back of them for Casanova to punch in, police said.
“Those cards, in my trained experience, are re-encoded with credit card information that is stolen from another source,” Zimber said.
Police said 44 gift cards and 308 gallons of diesel were found when they arrested Casanova and said he would then resell the diesel at a reduced rate.
Police are thrilled to have Casanova off the streets, noting his arrest averted a possible tragedy.
“These trucks, the way they’re outfitted, they’re not safe to be on the road,” Zimber said. “The truck we just got, it actually had diesel fuel from the tank that was re-outfitted. It was leaking diesel fuel on the exhaust. Three hundred gallons of diesel fuel that catches fire can blow up easy. These things aren’t made to sustain a car accident, so it’s extremely dangerous.”
Casanova is being held on a $45,000 bond.
Police said this arrest is part of a ring that goes as far south as Miami and as far north as Palm Beach County.
If you have any information on this gas station scam, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $3,000 reward.
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