TYLER, TX – The Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center (FCIC), through its North Texas Field Operations Team, led a multi-agency operation that dismantled an organized criminal ring responsible for installing payment card skimmers on high-flow diesel pumps and using stolen card information to fraudulently obtain fuel from truck stops across North Texas.
In late April 2026, the FCIC received a request for assistance from the Garland Police Department in relation to multiple reports of stolen fuel and card numbers. The Texas FCIC began investigating an organized group placing skimming devices on high-flow diesel pumps throughout the North Texas region. The investigation determined that the group installed skimming devices on diesel pumps to steal payment card information and use the stolen data to obtain fuel from truck stops throughout North Texas. Authorities estimated the group stole between 1,500 and 2,500 gallons of diesel per night, five to six nights per week by pumping the fuel into hidden compartments built into the vehicles they were driving. Investigators also determined the group had placed skimming devices on fuel pumps as far away as Smith County, Texas.
On Friday, June 12, 2026, the Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center, with the assistance of the Smith County District Attorney’s Office, Garland Police Department, Irving Police Department, Arlington Police Department, the Texas Department of Public Safety Special Operations Group, the Texas Department of Public Safety Anti-Gang Group, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force, executed three simultaneous search warrants at two locations in Irving and one location in Arlington…