Two men were arrested in Lee County on Monday morning, suspected of stealing fuel and committing credit card fraud.
Juan Alfredo Escalona Hidalgo, 33, of Manatee County, and Raul Torralba, 42, of Lehigh Acres, were arrested after troopers pulled over a 2016 Freightliner truck at around 9:30 a.m. at the Pilot Gas Station located at 6054 Plaza Drive in Lee County. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the truck and those two occupants were suspected to be involved in diesel fuel theft and credit card fraud, on an earlier date and at a different location.
An inspection of the truck revealed it was stolen out of Miami and illegally equipped with unlawful welded fuel tanks, filled with stolen diesel fuel. Troopers additionally confiscated a credit card skimmer, numerous stolen credit cards and a laptop they say the duo use to defraud people.
Hidalgo and Torralba were transported to the Lee County Jail. Both men face charges of larceny (multiple counts), fraud, resisting arrest without violence, unlawful conveyance of fuel and grand theft auto.
