Four arrest warrants for one man were made public last week – all related to credit card fraud. Those warrants revealed 23 credit card victims, and one victim of witness tampering.
Esvagui Rodriguez, 52, was arrested on January 26 and listed as homeless in jail records. Court records indicated Rodriguez had ties to the Northeast United States.
In one of the four arrest warrants, a Lubbock police investigator wrote, “[Rodriguez] does not appear to be working alone and it is my belief that [Rodriguez] is part of a larger well-organized criminal operation.”
The investigator also wrote, “This belief is based on the quality and quantity of the forged cards, as well as the state-wide skimming of the victims’ information.”
“A large number of the victims recall purchasing fuel from gas stations in the Mt. Pleasant, Texas area,” the warrant said.
An employee of United Supermarkets called for help when she recognized Rodriguez coming into the store. She told police that he had used fake credit cards before.
On this occasion, the arrest warrant said Rodriguez used a fake or cloned credit card to purchase more than $300 of groceries.
When confronted by Lubbock Police, Rodriguez was quoted as saying “f***ing police” and “I f***ing hate America.”
Rodriguez was held in the Lubbock County Detention Center on bonds totaling $375,000.
At the time of the arrest warrants, police were still gathering more information on both possible victims and possible suspects. The United States Secret Service provided information to help Lubbock Police with the investigation.
