SMITH COUNTY, Texas (KLTV) - Several suspects have been arrested in connection with a sophisticated method of stealing fuel.
An affidavit from a Master Peace Officer regarding several arrests in connection with the theft of tens of thousands of dollars worth of diesel from stations all across the region has been released. The method used to steal the fuel is called “pulsar tampering,” in which the fuel pump is essentially tricked into thinking it’s dispensing far less fuel than it is. China Diesel Tank With Pump
The document said that a pulsar device is a part of the pump which “counts” the amount of fuel that’s being pumped. People involved in this kind of tampering crime will remove important parts of the pulsar and attach a battery-operated device, which causes the pulsar to “count” much slower. This results in the pump charging for less than 1/20 of the amount of fuel that was actually pumped. This report said that this stolen fuel is then resold at a rate that significantly undercuts the market price, while still resulting in a massive profit for the thieves.
The widespread investigation was conducted from June 16 to Aug. 25, 2022, and covered many jurisdictions across northeast Texas. The results appear to show that many fuel stations were affected by the same group of scammers using this pulsar tampering method, who also appeared to be using stolen debit and credit cards for the criminal purchases.
The areas involved in the investigation were listed as follows:
By use of security cameras and payment records at each station, the suspects were able to be connected to each other. The vehicles used during the connected incidents were each seen at several affected stations, and there appeared to be only a handful of debit, credit, and gift cards used to conduct the thefts, several of which were stolen.
As a result, the cited arrest warrant was issued for Ramon Perez Torrez, 29, of Mesquite, for the charge of organized criminal activity. Torres is being held in the Smith County Jail on a $750,000 bond. Duniesky Ondarza Gonzalez, 36, of Dallas, and Camila Cruz Concepcion, 25, of Dallas, have also been arrested for the same charge, and are being held in Smith County on their own $750,000 bonds.
The affidavit lists four other suspects, but it is not known if they have been arrested.
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