Fuel making millions nationwide on black market

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A black market for diesel and gasoline has rapidly spread around the nation, with organized crime gangs using fraudulent credit cards to syphon millions of dollars in fuel from gas stations into large tanks hidden inside pickups and vans.

Stealing fuel can be less risky than selling drugs or other illegal endeavors, and criminals can make $1,000 or more a day reselling the stolen fuel at construction sites and unscrupulous gas stations, or to truckers looking to cut costs, investigators and industry experts say.

“It’s pretty rampant,” said Owen DeWitt, whose Texasbased company, Know Control, focuses solely on helping gas stations prevent fuel theft. He said the crime is worst along Interstate 10, from Jacksonville, Fla., to the Los Angeles area.

Black market diesel started becoming a big business when credit card “skimmers” became prevalent around 2006, DeWitt said. Thieves install these devices at gas station pumps, where they record card information as customers fuel up. The information is later transferred to a magnetic strip on a counterfeit card.

The black market has grown quickly in part because the thefts total a few hundred dollars at a time, and prosecutors were slow to prioritize them. But as fuel thefts become more organized, they have caught the attention of state and federal authorities.

The U.S. Secret Service, which investigates financial crimes, is involved because the gangs use skimmers. Agent Steve Scarince says Miami, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, Nev., are hot spots, together accounting for about 20 million gallons a year in stolen diesel.

“The crews that we’ve investigated over the past couple of years — the least profitable group is $5 million a year. And then there are groups that will gross $20 million plus,” Scarince said. “The gang-bangers in Los Angeles have been migrating to financial crimes instead of street crimes because it’s much more profitable and if you get caught, you get probation.”