Two men used multiple debit cards at Giant, Weis, Sunoco and Shell stations across the Lehigh Valley, police said.
Two men from New York conspired to use other people's debit cards to steal more than $5,000 in gas and groceries from local stores over a couple of days this summer, sometimes visiting the same store more than once, Pennsylvania State Police say.
David Kuras, of Brooklyn, accompanied Stanislav Kogan when Kogan used stolen account numbers to fill a tank in the back of his truck with gasoline, state police at Belfast said. Kuras also used the stolen debit cards by himself a couple days later, police said.
A July report of suspicious activity at the Sunoco Gas station, 612 Main St., in Stockertown, caught the attention of state troopers who started paying closer attention to the gas station and launched an investigation, court papers say.
A trooper then said he stopped Kuras on June 29 as he drove a white, Ford 350 away from the station, police said. The trooper inquired about 10 cartons of cigarettes on the passenger seat and asked what was in the bed of the truck covered by a large cap. Kuras said he didn't know and gave the trooper permission to look.
When the trooper saw a large metal tank he believed was partially full, Kuras said his boss has a yacht and probably used it to transport fuel. The trooper told Kuras he'd get citations in the mail for inspection and equipment violations and let Kuras go on his way, court papers said.
In July, a trooper stopped at the Sunoco and talked to a manager, who said she remembered the truck driven by a man who would use multiple gift cards to purchase gas and cigarettes, court papers stated. Some of the cards would be declined when he tried to use them, according to court documents.
The manager also told police for the past week and a half, a man driving a maroon truck would arrive about 10 or 11 a.m. each day and use multiple credit cards at the gas pump to put large amounts in a concealed tank in the bed of the truck, police said. An attendant said the man would use a different debit card to pay when other cards were denied, according to court documents.
The same summer, a trooper arrived to find another man, Stanislav Kogan, with a gas line running to the tank in the bed of his truck, court papers state. Kogan pleaded guilty in November to identity theft, accessing a device issued to another who did not authorize use and conspiracy to commit theft by unlawful taking, according to court documents.
The trooper who investigated learned through two GPS units in Kogan's truck that he had been traveling from Brooklyn to the Lehigh Valley since June 25 and stopping at various gas stations throughout the day, police said. The trooper contacted the gas stations and learned Kogan used other people's debit card account numbers to purchase gas and groceries, police said.
The trooper reviewed surveillance, which confirmed Kogan was responsible for most of the purchases, according to court documents. But video from Giant showed Kuras was with Kogan during all the purchases he made June 27 and was an active participant, police said. The two used assorted debit cards at Giant, Weis, Sunoco and Shell stations in Forks, Palmer, Bethlehem, Stockertown and Nazareth that day, police said.
Police continued to work with loss prevention employees to detect fraud. They learned Kuras operated the white truck alone June 29 and used numerous cards to buy gas and groceries, according to court documents.
After identifying the transactions, police contacted U.S. Bank, the holder of all the affected accounts. The bank said each was a checking account that had been closed because of fraudulent activity, police said. The bank reimbursed all the stolen money to the alleged victims, police said.
Kuras was arraigned today before District Judge John Capobianco on charges of theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, accessing a device issued to another who did not authorize use, identity theft and conspiracy to access a device issued to another who did not authorize use, according to court documents.
He is in Northampton County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bail.