Former Ryder Truck Driver Indicted for Alleged Wire Fraud

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A former truck driver for Ryder has been indicted in federal court for allegedly letting gas station employees use the company credit card to make fuel purchases.

Kenneth Luke was an independent contractor truck drive hired by Ryder to transport motor parts by means of a standard route that would take him and other contractor truck drivers hired by Ryder through Prescott, Arkansas.

According to the indictment Luke allegedly obtained the unique credit card information required to initiate fuel purchase transactions from various Comdata fuel purchase credit cards belonging to Ryder and would provide this information to clerks working at the Horizon Food Mart in Prescott, Arkansas.

The indictment alleges the clerks would use this information to conduct false and fraudulent fuel purchases at the Horizon Food Mart.

After conducting the false and fraudulent fuel purchase transactions, the clerks allegedly would use the available cash on hand at the Horizon Food Mart to provide payment for themselves and Luke related to the false and fraudulent fuel purchase transactions at the Horizon Food Mart.

Luke is being charged with eight counts of wire fraud for allegedly having knowingly and intentionally devised and intended to devise a scheme and artifice to defraud, and to obtain money by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, caused to be transmitted by means of wire communication in interstate, communications, signals, and writings, as described for each count below:

Horizon Food Mart in Prescott, Arkansas was a convenience store and gas station that was used by Ryder contract truck drivers to obtain fuel.

COUNT DATE WIRE COMMUNICATION AMOUNT
ONE 3/23/12 Comdata Fuel Purchase Transaction $610.93
TWO 3/23/12 Comdata Fuel Purchase Transaction $675.49
THREE 3/23/12 Comdata Fuel Purchase Transaction $577.06
FOUR 3/24/12 Comdata Fuel Purchase Transaction $694.04
FIVE 3/24/12 Comdata Fuel Purchase Transaction $711.97
SIX 3/24/12 Comdata Fuel Purchase Transaction $638.33
SEVEN 3/26/12 Comdata Fuel Purchase Transaction $707.91
EIGHT 3/27/12 Comdata Fuel Purchase Transaction $691.55

Luke has also been charged with one count of access device fraud. A date for trial has not yet been set and Luke is currently free on $5000 bail.

The indictment alleges that the fraudulent fuel purchases started, “at least as early as October 2009 and continuing until on or about May 31, 2012.”

Sadiq Sadruddin Lakhani the owner of the Horizon Food Mart was sentenced to six months in FCI Texarkana for card thefts totaling $650,000. Read more about that here.

View Full Indictment .pdf

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