A 32-year-old New Mexico man has been accused of using fuel cards that belonged to his former employer. When the case was reported, investigators began looking for the man and asked the public for help locating him. The man and his Chevrolet Silverado were allegedly identified in video footage at several gas stations in New Mexico.
How the investigation started
Sheriff’s investigators in Lea County spoke with a woman from B&D Services, the company where the accused man was formerly employed. According to the woman, she realized that some fuel cards belonging to the company were missing on Sept. 28. She also determined that there had been a high number of fuel purchases from June 2020 to September 2020.
The accused man was booked and released
Lea County Sheriff’s Deputies pulled the accused man over on Sept. 30 and booked him on unrelated charges. After paying his court fines, the man was released. Investigators reportedly found two missing fuel cards that belonged to B&D Services and one fuel card that belonged to CKJ Transport. The B&D Services cards had $18,223 worth of charges for regular and diesel fuel for the period of April 2020 to October 2020. The CKJ Transport fuel card was canceled and had no charges.
Third-degree embezzlement
According to reports, the man was accused of third-degree embezzlement. In New Mexico, embezzlement that involves something valued at more than $2,500 but no more than $20,000 is a third-degree felony. A criminal defense lawyer in a case like this may show evidence that the alleged embezzlement concerned a smaller value than what was reported. A lawyer might negotiate for reduced charges for white-collar crimes by proving that the value of the alleged loss was negligible.
