Tampa man accused of stealing diesel fuel, reselling for profit
TAMPA - A Tampa man was arrested after stealing thousands of dollars in diesel fuel from gas stations across several Bay Area counties, according to arrest documents.
Jose Bernal Monjas, 41, was arrested on March 27 on fuel theft charges. He posted bond and was released on March 31.
Records show he was arrested for the same charges in 2022.
"As we can see, Jose Bernal Monjas didn't learn his lesson," Carolina Montelongo, spokesperson for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office, said. "Attempting to profit from honest businesses, honest people just shows the disregard this suspect has for law enforcement and the well-being of the community."
In February, Pilot Corporate fraud investigators reached out to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office and told detectives surveillance video showed two pickup trucks pumping gas directly into their truck beds.
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"He kind of built, I will call, like a storage container," Montelongo said, when describing what detectives found in the suspect vehicle’s truck bed.
Arrest documents show $1,268.56 in diesel fuel was pumped by one of the suspect vehicles with stolen credit cards at a Pilot gas pump in Seffner on February 14.
On March 6, Pasco County detectives conducted surveillance of the two suspect trucks, which were initially parked at Tampa homes. According to arrest documents, there were stops at two gas stations in Wildwood and another in Brooksville where detectives watched two men pump 300 gallons of diesel fuel.
"This suspect believed that he was smarter than everyone. So he was stealing this diesel. And then he was selling this diesel to other people, lying and saying that he got it legally," Montelongo said.
Last month, HCSO put a GPS tracker on the truck Bernal Monjas was driving. According to arrest records, detectives said they watched him pump $940 of diesel into his truck bed at a Lake Whales gas station and nearly $1,381.55 from a Vero Beach gas station.
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On March 27, Hillsborough County deputies were conducting surveillance on Bernal Monjas’ vehicle. He was arrested that day after a traffic stop at Memorial Highway and Veterans Expressway.
"When our deputies stopped him, they saw that there was something leaking," Montelongo said, when describing the truck bed. "So they just are investigating. And we saw what he was doing."
HCSO told FOX 13 that this investigation is not over and that other individuals are likely involved.
Bill Beuchat, senior director, risk management at Pilot issued the following statement:
We are strongly committed to safety and information security. Our fraud prevention team is dedicated to identifying, mitigating and preventing transaction fraud activity at our locations. We work closely with local, state and federal authorities on any suspected transaction fraud and we are grateful for the cooperation and thorough response from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in this case.
