DPS trooper among victims of NE Side man’s credit card skimmer scheme, affidavit says

SAN ANTONIO – The Texas Department of Public Safety is investigating a crime that seems to have hit especially close to home.

Investigators arrested Osvaldo Alvarez Benitez, 38, on Tuesday in connection with what appears to be a credit card skimming operation.

An arrest affidavit states one of the victims in the case was a DPS trooper, whose stolen credit card information was used to rack up nearly $12,000 in purchases.

Alvarez Benitez is believed to have been working with a group of people, not only involving stolen credit card information but also stolen diesel fuel, the affidavit says.

The document states investigators served a search warrant at Alvarez Benitez’s home on Comanche Cave in April and found credit card skimmers and parts of the devices inside the residence.

Investigators said they had been watching Alvarez Benitez for some time and had found that he visited gas stations across town daily.

Authorities said they found card skimmers at some of those gas pumps.

Alvarez Benitez, who reportedly owns a trucking company, was using the stolen credit card information to make clone cards, the affidavit states.

With the phony cards, investigators said he would then purchase diesel fuel for a whole fleet of big rigs.

Using surveillance video from a truck stop near Interstate 10 and Ackerman Road, investigators say they identified Alvarez Benitez as their suspect.

A DPS spokesman declined to release additional details Wednesday, including whether any other arrests have been made or where the gas stations with the skimmers installed are located.

The affidavit also states that Alvarez Benitez is a suspect in a similar case involving a U.S. Postal Service fleet card.

KSAT 12 News emailed USPS for additional details, but had not received a response as of Wednesday afternoon.

In a story earlier this year, KSAT 12 News reported that there had been a decrease in the number of credit card skimmers discovered locally last year.

San Antonio Police Department data showed that between January and December 2025, officers found 40 skimmers installed. That is down from the 51 they found in 2024, according to SAPD figures.

Read also:

• MAP: Where credit card skimmers were found by San Antonio police in 2025