Two men sentenced for hacking into Virginia Beach gas station to sell gas at discounted rate
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – Two men have been sentenced on Wednesday for hacking into several Virginia Beach gas stations to sell gas at a discounted rate.
Man accused of hacking into VB gas station and selling gas at discounted rate pleads guilty
Commonwealth’s Attorney for the city of Virginia Beach, Colin D. Stolle, announced that 23-year-old Devon Drumgoole and 26-year-old Rashane Griffith were each sentenced on multiple charges related to the gas station theft.
Drumgoole and Griffith were each charged with two counts of grand larceny, two counts of possession of burglary tools and two counts of conspiracy to commit grand larceny.
Circuit Court Judge Les L. Lilley sentenced Drumgoole to 15 years in prison with 10 years, leaving five years to serve.
Griffith was sentenced to 15 years in prison with eight years suspended, leaving seven years to serve.
According to the Virginia State Sentencing Guidelines, these sentences are significantly higher than the recommended maximum of six months for Drumgoole, and a maximum of two years and 11 months for Griffith.
Judge Lilley stated that the “magnitude of the scam, and the boldness and arrogance of the defendants” is what led to the significantly higher sentencings.
Investigations revealed that between May 26, 2022 and June 14, 2022, Drumgoole and Griffith were involved in a scam involving gasoline thefts from several gas stations across Hampton Roads.
2 men arrested, accused of hacking into Virginia Beach gas station, selling gas at discounted rate
The Virginia Beach Police Department conducted surveillance on the Citgo Gas Station at 1405 North Great Neck Road on June 14. Officers observed drivers pulling up to the gas pumps, conducting hand-to-hand transactions with one of the suspects, getting their gas pumped by one of the suspects and then driving off.
After watching the activity for nearly an hour, officers then detained everyone at the scene.
Drumgoole and Griffith were found to have a small black handheld Wayne device, which are typically used by technicians working on gas pumps. The devices allow the technician to bypass the credit card requirement and produce a free flow of the gas pumps during repairs and maintenance of pumps.
A search of Drumgoole’s phone revealed countless messages advertising the “fill-up” nights, containing locations and times for the scam.
On June 14, 2022, Drumgoole posted on Instagram, “Gas fill ups tonight at 11! Don’t be late and spread the word. All gas half off DM me for addy.” Officials stated that the Instagram posts also instructed other users on how to conduct the scam.
Detectives were able to determine that on May 26, 2022, Drumgoole and Griffith conducted a similar scam at the Circle D Gas Station and Food Mart at 971 Virginia Beach Blvd. An Instagram video posted by Drumgoole showed Griffith demonstrating how the Wayne device worked to bypass the credit card requirements.
The defendants were found to have stolen tens and thousands of dollars from various different gas stations during their scam. The Citgo and Circle D gas stations were able to recover most of their funds through insurance.
Drumgoole and Griffith were each ordered to pay the deductible back to both Citgo and Circle D, in the form of $4,250 restitution by each defendant.
Drumgoole has had two prior convictions for petit larceny. Griffith has had several prior convictions for shoplifting, conspiracy to commit larceny, grand larceny as well as several traffic violations.
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