Deputies arrest man with 72 cloned credit cards, illegal fuel tank

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LCSO

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Fort Myers man for credit card fraud and fuel theft.

On Wednesday, deputies conducted an operation targeting a string of recent thefts. Detectives observed an individual conducting multiple credit card transactions at a WaWa gas station.

The driver was identified as Pavel Andres Martinez. During a search of his vehicle, authorities found after-market piping connected to a homemade 100-gallon storage tank hidden underneath the bed cover.

Martinez was also in possession of 80 total credit cards & gift cards, which he attempted to conceal in his pants. After researching the cards, 72 of them were determined to be cloned credit cards containing unsuspecting victims credit card numbers encoded on the back magnetic strip.

Martinez was arrested and charged with trafficking/possession of counterfeit credit cards, unlawful conveyance of fuel and concealing physical evidence. The vehicle was impounded for possible asset forfeiture.

Martinez was released on a $45,000 bond. All the financial institutions are being contacted to be made aware of the account breach.

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