Hialeah Man Arrested In New England Gas Pump Skimming Scheme

MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) - Prosecutors say a Hialeah man is accused of being involved in a scheme to attach "skimming" devices to pumps at gas stations across New England.

Authorities said Luis Angel Naranjo Rodriguez, 29, was charged Monday with possessing 15 or more counterfeit access devices, and possession of device-making equipment.

Naranjo Rodriguez was arrested in Concord, Massachusetts last November after police spotted him at a closed gas station next to an unlocked gas pump with keys in the lock, prosecutors said.

Officers searched Naranjo Rodriguez, a nearby vehicle and his hotel room and found multiple skimming devices and additional pump keys, authorities said.

A review of the devices resulted in the discovery of more than 5,600 account numbers that appeared to have been stolen, prosecutors said.

The devices were installed at gas stations in Lynnfield, Concord, Malden, Taunton, Randolph and Raynham, Massachusetts; Portland, Maine; Nashua, New Hampshire; and Willington, Connecticut, authorities said.

Naranjo Rodriguez was held pending a detention hearing scheduled for Friday.

He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.

An email was left with his federal public defender.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)