Tampa, Florida — A patrol deputy was arrested Tuesday on charges he used his department-issued fuel credit card to buy gas for his personal car, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office announced.

Timothy P. Ford, 32, was taken into custody at the Internal Affairs Office and suspended without pay pending an administrative and criminal investigation.

He's accused of unlawfully using his Sheriff's Office issued Voyager fuel card to purchase fuel for his personal vehicle on numerous independent occasions, the sheriff's office said.

He admitted to grand theft of more than $300, citing personal financial issues caused by unforeseen family medical conditions, and wished to reimburse the department for the amount stolen, the sheriff's office said.

He joined the sheriff's office as a detention deputy in 1998, and became a patrol deputy in February of 2001.

According to Shane Dyer, President of PowerUp Fleet, Inc, "This is a gret example of why businesses need to enforce odometer entry and closely monitor the vehicles MPG!  Had they been watching the MPG, this theft would have come to light much sooner than it did.  This is another reason we recommend fuel purchasing systems that limit gallons per day versus dollars.  There would have been less room for the theft if the driver had been limited to gallons per day"

GREENWOOD, Miss. Greenwood authorities have fired an auxiliary police officer, claiming he had used a city-issued Fuelman card to put gasoline in his personal vehicle.

Initially reported by Olivera Perkins, Plain Dealer Reporter

Cleveland, OH - (June 18^th, 2006) - A former Cleveland Water Department worker is scheduled for arraignment Monday on charges that he stole almost $6,200 in gasoline from the city over nearly two years, according to the Cuyahoga County prosecutor's office.

The case of Ronald Kokely, 54, sparked an audit of gas used by all city departments. Results are expected in late summer. A Cuyahoga County grand jury indicted Kokely June 2 on charges of misuse of a credit card, theft in office and possessing criminal tools.

A fellow employee saw Kokely filling a gas can Oct. 17, 2005, at a pump at a Cleveland Water Department facility in Parma Heights. The employee told police that Kokely put the can in his own car, according to law enforcement accounts. Employees use city-issued credit cards to buy gas for city-owned vehicles.

Parma Heights police arrested Kokely. Cleveland police then took over the investigation and turned over the findings to a grand jury. The indictment is based on an investigation that covers Kokely's gas purchases and usage from January 2004 to October 2005.

Kokely, a Water Department laborer, was fired a few days after his arrest. He had been a city employee since 1985. A month later, Cleveland officials launched an audit of gasoline used by all city departments since 2003, said Frank Badalamenti, the city's internal audit chief.

According to Shane Dyer, President of PowerUp Fleet, Inc., “The above incident illustrates the point that long tenured employees are often the ones who are abusing a poorly constructed fuel purchasing system.  According to several private investigators, the average tenure of those caught stealing is around six to nine years."

(Springfield, IL – 4/19/06) As reported in the State Journal Register, an Illinois Department of Central Management Services employee and two other Springfield residents have been charged in connection with an alleged scheme involving illegal use of state credit cards.

Sangamon County authorities say Patricia Zink, 46, who works in the CMS division of vehicle services at its Ash Street garage, assigned state credit cards to state vehicles for gas purchases and vehicle expenses while the vehicles were being used on state business.  Zink allegedly was taking activated state credit cards and using them herself and sharing the cards with friends and associates in exchange for payment, said first assistant state's attorney Steve Weinhoeft.   The scheme allegedly operated from November until February, when the Illinois State Police's division of internal investigations noticed irregularities in the use of the credit cards.

Zink is charged with official misconduct, unlawful use of a credit card and theft of more than $300 but less than $10,000 - all Class 3 felonies punishable by up to two to five years in prison. She also is charged with misdemeanor theft for allegedly stealing the actual plastic cards. The charges against Zink allege that she stole $7,335 through the scheme.

Based on the report, it appears that nearly $2000 per month was being stolen by Zink and her accomplices. Had the department of CMS been using a high control fuel management solution through a PowerUp Fleet Fuel Management Affiliate, where daily gallon limits were in place, the scheme would not have been effective.

(Beaver, PA – 4/17/06) As reported in The Beaver County Times, a local construction company has learned the dangers of giving employees loosely controlled fuel purchasing cards. On March 27^th, an employee of K&L Construction was charged with stealing a credit card from a company vehicle, and then using that card to buy about $500 worth of cigarettes at the Kwik Fill convenience store in New Brighton. Mark Blakely, 49 has been charged with theft and access device fraud.

Had the company issued a fuel purchasing card based on a high control commercial fueling system, the abuse would not have been possible. Commercial fueling systems recommended by PowerUp Fleet only allow purchases of fuel up to specific daily gallon limits. Had the construction company been using a card through a PowerUp Fleet Fuel Management Affiliate, Blakely would not have been successful in stealing anything from the company.

GRAND RAPIDS TOWNSHIP, MI (February 2006) – Caledonia superintendent Wes VanDenburg has been charged with embezzling money from the Michigan school district. It is alleged that he sought cash reimbursement from the district after fabricating 41 receipts and was paid twice for 26 others. The receipts totaled about $2,000 over 14 months, part of $16,000 in gas and food charges on the district-issued credit card, according to an outside audit of VanDenburg's spending.

“This is just another example of how poorly controlled procurement systems cost both taxpayers and business owners” states Shane Dyer, President of PowerUp Fleet, Inc. “Businesses, and tax based governmental agencies in particular, should take notice that abuse is an issue nationwide, and that greater control needs to be implemented.”

One of the quickest ways businesses and governmental agencies can get control is to implement a fuel purchasing system through a cardlock provider. “Cardlock providers can implement the highest level of controls over fuel purchases that would eliminate the abuses alleged by VanDenburg”, says Dyer. “In fact, if you are tax based, it should be a requirement that you use only the highest control fuel purchasing system possible in order to avoid these issues and subsequent damages to the taxpayer.”

Washington County, MO (February 2006) - Deanna Springer-McCord plead guilty to one federal count of theft from a program receiving federal funds. The charge stemmed from the allegation that she stole funds from the Mineral Area Drug Task Force, an organization that receives both state and federal funding.

According to the federal indictment, between March 1, 2002 and Oct. 20, 2004, she used the task force's credit card to pay for her own personal expenses, making approximately $66,820 worth of unauthorized charges on a Visa card. Between July 2003 and November 2004, Springer-McCord made approximately $4,400 in unauthorized charges using the task force's gas card.

Arbuckle, CA (January 2006) - As initially reported in the Appeal-Democrat by Kimm Mann: Mr. James Lutz, a former Pierce Joint Unified School District Superintendent recently pled guilty to embezzlement charges. In addition, an internal audit determined that Lutz had misused the school district gas card.

According to Pamela Craig, District Attorney Investigator, Lutz is accused of using the district “gas card” to purchase over $5,000 in cigarettes, lottery tickets and snacks.

Mr. Lutz’ is not alone in abusing low control gas purchasing cards. According to Shane Dyer, President of PowerUp Fleet, Inc., “We see this type of thing quite often in our industry. Employees will simply take advantage of these low control fuel purchasing programs if given the opportunity. A fuel purchasing card, especially one that is funded by tax dollars such as a school district, should have much higher control as is available through a commercial fueling facility”.

As fuel prices rose throughout much of latter 2005, stories of theft by siphoning gas from vehicles began to appear in papers across the country.

As San Diego’s News Channel 8 reported; Siphoning is one of the most underreported crimes in the United States, because it's difficult for police to track and combat. "My housemate went to leave for work, the next morning she came in with the gas cap in her hand and we both went out to the car and they had siphoned a full tank of gas," Zoe Villaroman said. The thief or thieves got away with about $30 worth of free gas.

Stories such as this can be found in newspapers across the country. How can a business combat this and other forms of theft, such as employees filling small gas cans for personal use, or meeting their spouse or friends at the service station and putting some of the fuel in another vehicle?

The most effective method is to limit the number of gallons a driver can purchase each day to match their consumption pattern, and then monitor their Miles Per Gallon very carefully for deviations. Don’t accept a fuel control system that only limits purchases by dollars, nor accept a system that tells you “after the fact” that a driver has purchased more than allowed.