SAN ANTONIO — Investigators arrested Osvaldo Alvarez Benitez, 38, on Tuesday in connection with a credit card skimming operation in San Antonio. According to an arrest affidavit, a Department of Public Safety trooper's stolen credit card information was used to rack up nearly $12,000 in purchases.

The affidavit states Alvarez Benitez is believed to have been working with a group of people on stolen credit card information and stolen diesel fuel. The affidavit states he was using stolen credit card information to make clone cards, and investigators said he used the phony cards to purchase diesel fuel for a fleet of big rigs. Alvarez Benitez owns a trucking company, according to the affidavit.

Investigators used surveillance video from a truck stop near Interstate 10 and Ackerman Road to identify Alvarez Benitez as a suspect. Investigators said they had been surveilling him and found he visited gas stations across town daily. Authorities said they found card skimmers installed at some gas pumps.

Investigators served a search warrant at Alvarez Benitez's Comanche Cave home in April and found credit card skimmers and device parts, according to the affidavit. The affidavit also states he is a suspect in a similar case involving a U.S. Postal Service fleet card.

A DPS spokesman declined to release additional details about whether any other arrests have been made or where the gas stations with skimmers installed are located. San Antonio Police Department data showed that between January and December 2025, officers found 40 credit card skimmers installed across the city. The data showed officers found 51 credit card skimmers installed in 2024.