A Murrieta man was taken into custody at a Newbury Park gas station this week after detectives say he was part of a scheme that racked up more than $113,000 in fraudulent fuel purchases across Ventura County using stolen credit card information. Tigran Gabrielian, 61, now faces nine counts involving identity theft and grand theft, and investigators say the case is far from closed.
According to NBC Los Angeles, the investigation began Oct. 17, when deputies responded to a reported data breach at Poole Commercial Fuels, a business located on Vineyard Avenue near North Patterson Road in an unincorporated part of Oxnard. Company representatives told investigators they had discovered more than $113,000 in unauthorized charges hitting their accounts. KCLU similarly reported that investigators estimated the overall loss at more than $100,000.
Detectives determined that the fraudulent purchases weren't limited to one location — several fraudulent fuel buys turned up at gas stations scattered throughout the county, the station's report states. Suspects allegedly used multiple stolen credit cards to buy as much as $2,500 worth of fuel in a single visit, and investigators came to suspect the vehicles involved had been specially modified to haul large quantities of stolen gas.
Surveillance Footage and License Plate Data Led to an Arrest
Detectives pieced together the suspect vehicles by reviewing surveillance footage from local gas stations alongside data pulled from the Sheriff's Office's Flock automated license plate reader system, per the same account. That tracking effort paid off on Nov. 4, when a suspect bought approximately $900 worth of fuel using stolen credit card information at a Newbury Park gas station before fleeing the scene.
Detectives located the same vehicle at another gas station shortly afterward and detained the driver, identified as Gabrielian. A search turned up several blank credit cards in his possession, each one carrying a sticky note with an expiration date and personal identification number already written on it — effectively a ready-made key to the stolen accounts.
Hidden Tanks and a Pumping System Found in the Truck
The search of Gabrielian's truck uncovered what the report describes as additional evidence of the suspected fuel theft operation: concealed fuel tanks and large fuel bladders built into the vehicle, along with a pumping system complete with a dispensing handle and meter that allowed fuel to be transferred and measured. Authorities seized the truck, along with a large amount of cash, as evidence in the case.
Gabrielian was booked on nine counts involving identity theft and grand theft. The Ventura County Sheriff's Office said detectives linked him to the fraudulent fuel purchases through the stolen credit card information, and the investigation remains open, with detectives saying they believe additional suspects may be involved.
Other Fuel Theft Cases Have Surfaced Across the Region
This isn't the only fuel-theft case to hit Ventura County this fall. In a separate investigation, detectives say they observed a diesel-theft operation in action on Oct. 13 and arrested four men — Alfonso Vargas, Alfonso Vargas Jr., Gilbert Flores and Miguel Cruz — after conducting traffic stops, according to Land Line Media. That case involved an estimated 315 gallons of stolen fuel worth more than $3,000 siphoned from commercial trucks, and CBS Los Angeles reported that deputies found two 1,200-gallon fuel tanks and pumping equipment hidden inside the suspects' van.
A separate report from Hometown Station described a suspect accused of stealing nearly $6,000 worth of diesel from a Castaic gas station using fraudulent access cards; that report identified a Tigran Gabrielian, 60, from Van Nuys, in connection with the Castaic case, a different age and city than the Murrieta man named in the Ventura County fuel-theft investigation, and it is not established whether these refer to the same person.
The Ventura County Sheriff's Office has asked anyone with information about the fuel thefts to contact authorities as the investigation into Gabrielian's case continues.
