Man sentenced for diesel thefts across Texas

SMITH COUNTY — A Mesquite man who was a part of an organized criminal ring accused of stealing 10,000 gallons of diesel fuel has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. According to our news partner KETK, Ramon Perez-Torres was convicted of engaging in organized criminal activity on Tuesday. The criminal group is accused of using fraudulent credit card information and using pulser tampering devices on motor fuel dispensers.

Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation said in a release, “A pulser is part of the motor fuel metering system that counts fuel flow and determines the amount of fuel flow per penny. The criminal tampering device slows down the pulser, allowing suspects to pump hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel for pennies on the dollar.”

The group is accused of stealing more than 10,000 gallons of fuel from gas stations in nine different counties across Texas. Authorities suspect a large number of people to be a part of the group and eight have been indicted.