This morning, a federal grand jury in
Del Rio returned an indictment charging five Eagle Pass residents, including
former city of Eagle Pass Department of Public Works employee Edgar Aguilar, in
connection with an estimated $70,000 credit card fraud scheme, announced United
States Attorney Robert Pitman, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in
Charge Armando Fernandez, and Eagle Pass Police Chief Tony CastaƱeda.
The five-count indictment charges the
27-year-old Aguilar, 25-year-old Rene Castillo, 43-year-old Armando Ojeda
Nuncio, 39-year-old Ricardo Hernandez-Espinoza, and 30-year-old Elizabeth
Vivian with one count of conspiracy to commit credit card fraud. The indictment
also charges all of the defendants, with the exception of Vivian, with one
substantive count of credit card fraud.
According to the indictment, during
2011, Edgar Aguilar obtained five city of Eagle Pass-owned “Fuelman” credit
cards designated for fuel purchases for Public Works department vehicles and
distributed them to his co-defendants. The defendants then used those cards to
purchase fuel for their own vehicles and to purchase fuel for others at the
city’s expense. In some instances, defendants charged individuals a reduced
rate for fuel purchased using the city’s credit card and then pocketed the
cash.
Upon conviction, each defendant faces up
to five years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine on the conspiracy
charge. Aguilar, Castillo, Ojeda, and Hernandez-Espinosa are also subject to a
maximum 10 years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine upon conviction
of the substantive credit card fraud charge. The government is also seeking to
have the defendants repay the city of Eagle Pass for the cost of the
misappropriated fuel.
This ongoing joint investigation is
being conducted by agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation together
with investigators from the Eagle Pass Police Department. Assistant United
States Attorney Don McCune is prosecuting this case on behalf of the
government.
An indictment is merely a charge and
should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed
innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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