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Press Release
Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Jose Eloy Gonzalez Cuenca (33, Land O’Lakes) to four years and six months in federal prison for credit card fraud and aggravated identity theft. Gonzalez Cuenca had pleaded guilty on December 1, 2021.
According to court documents, between December 2020 and September 2021, Gonzalez Cuenca was involved in a conspiracy to install credit card skimmers on gas pumps in the Tampa area and throughout the United States to obtain stolen credit card and debit card account information. The conspirators then used the stolen information to commit fraud.
As part of the conspiracy, Gonzalez Cuenca sold credit card numbers and credit card skimming devices to others. Unbeknownst to him, one of the individuals to whom he sold numbers and devices was a confidential informant (CI) working with law enforcement. In April 2021, Gonzalez Cuenca sold the CI 1,000 credit and debit card account numbers and four credit card skimmers.
FDLE Tampa Bay Regional Operations Center Special Agent in Charge Mark Brutnell said, “Criminals like this who prey on Florida’s hardworking citizens and visitors to disrupt lives and empty bank accounts have no place in our great state. I am tremendously grateful to our members and partners who worked tirelessly on this case to not only bring this thief to justice but also to prevent anyone else from falling victim to his schemes.”
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer L. Peresie.