Hoover police arrest 3 Cuban nationals in credit card skimming, cloning operation

Hoover police today announced they arrested and obtained charges against three Cuban nationals in relation to a credit card skimming and cloning operation.

At 1:50 p.m. on Monday, Regions Bank corporate security notified police that people were making multiple fraudulent purchases at the Patton Creek Shopping Center. Officers were able to locate a suspect vehicle based on provided descriptions as it was leaving the area on Galleria Boulevard, police said.

Police stopped the vehicle and identified the three occupants as the people reportedly using stolen cards. They were arrested and transported to the Hoover Jail.

Police recovered 32 stolen or cloned credit cards, and detectives verified the cloned cards contained identities of multiple victims. Of the 32 victims, police said they have located 15.

The credit card numbers were stolen through a gas pump skimming device at the Kangaroo Station on Cahaba Valley Road in Pelham, police said. Police checked the gas pumps and reported the skimming device had already been removed. Police also found keys used to gain access to gas pumps and stolen merchandise in the car.

All three of the men arrested were Miami residents, police said. They were identified as 55-year-old Fidel Rodriguez Garcia, 31-year-old Rafael Bonne Trujillo and 31-year-old Leonardo Lamorut Rodriguez. Each was charged with trafficking in stolen identities.

Credit card fraud continues to be a problem nationwide, but it is becoming more common for organized criminal groups such as this to operate from Atlanta and the south Florida or Miami area, police said.