Lakehurst gas station attendant accused of spending thousands using customer credit cards

LAKEHURST- An attendant at a Route 70 gas station is accused of photographing customers' credit cards and using the information to make thousands of dollars in purchases, authorities said.

Sukhchain Singh of Brooklyn was charged with five counts of fraud in a civil complaint and theft and fraudulent use of a credit card in a criminal complaint, Lakehurst Police Chief Matthew Kline and Ocean County Department of Consumer Affairs Director Ronald Heinzman said in a statement.

The thefts began in August at the Fuel 4 gas station at 99 Route 70 in in the borough and were last reported in April, Klein and Heinzman said.

After receiving a complaint about a possible customer theft with the use of a device that skimmed data from credit cards at one of the Fuel 4's gas pumps, Lakehurst police notified the consumer affairs department.

The scam involved the lower-tech method of photographing the credit cards, investigators and police found.

Department investigators and Lakehurst police discovered that the gas station management fired Singh in April when becoming aware of the allegations.  Working with authorities, the owner drew Singh into the office with a promise that he would get his old job back, Klein and Heinzman said. The county investigators and the borough police were waiting when he arrived, they said.

Singh was taken to Ocean County Jail, from where he has since been released.

More: Former Freehold Wawa gas attendant indicted, stole thousands from customers: prosecutor

Singh, an Indian national who once lived in Lakehurst, faces up to $50,000 in fines on the civil charges alone.

Kline and Heinzman are urging anyone with information on the case to call Lakehurst Police Officer Christian Hernandez at (732) 657-7811 or Department of Consumer Affairs Investigator Anthony Fontana at (732) 929-2105.

Ken Serrano covers breaking news, crime and investigations. Reach him at 732-643-4029 or at kserrano@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJ gas station worker photographed credit cards, spent thousands: cops