Botched Gas Station Robbery Was Staged For Immigration Fraud Scheme, Police Say

Last updated on August 7th, 2024 at 04:29 pm

Investigators now believe an apparent robbery attempt at a Houston area gas station in January, which ended when an armed bystander fatally shot the robbery suspect, may have actually been a staged robbery coordinated by the apparent perpetrator and his apparent victims as part of an immigration fraud scheme.

The deadly incident unfolded at a Chevron gas station in northwest Houston on Jan. 27. A man, since identified as 22-year-old Rasshauud Scott, was seen accosting customers pumping gas, appearing to rob them of their possessions before he was fatally shot by a patron.

Houston Police Department detectives who investigated the case have now alleged Scott was involved in a scheme whereby he and an accomplice, 30-year-old William Winfrey, would pretend to rob non-citizens who could then present their apparent criminal victim as cause for a visa to temporarily remain in the United States.

Noncitizens who have been the victim of certain qualifying crimes while in the United States are permitted to file for a special U non-immigration status visa (U-Visa), allowing them to temporarily remain in the country. Once granted, a U-Visa is typically valid for four years.

In the moments before the Jan. 27 shooting, Scott had appeared to victimize a pair of gas station patrons, Ransley Fernandes and Gleena Rodriguez.

According to an affidavit filed in the Texas state court system last week, detectives recovered a phone from Scott’s possession. A search of the device uncovered messages on the encrypted Telegram messaging application, between Scott’s device and a Telegram handle “CUHZ52.” Messages between the two included photos of the vehicle Ransley Fernandes and Gleena Rodriguez were in at the gas station on the night of the botched robbery, as well as an apparent “selfie” of Ransley Fernandes.

Additional messages appeared to show “CUHZ52” giving instructions for Scott, telling him “THEY GONE BE THERE AT 12:30.” The robbery and shooting took place around 12:30 a.m. on Jan. 27.

“CUHZ52” sent further messages, telling Scott “JUST DON’T HIT HIS WIFE” and “WHEN YOU DONE RUN MAKE ALL THE SHIT TO LOOK REAL.”

Detectives also interviewed Scott’s widow, Sade Beverly, who described the robbery on Jan. 27 as a setup and said Scott and another individual she knew as “Cuhz” had done this same scheme in the past. She said Scott, “Cuhz,” and a ring of Indian male accomplices would coordinate the faked robberies. She said gas station employees would routinely be in on the scheme, and use the incident as a basis for filing insurance claims.

According to the court filings, detectives were able to find a phone number linked to the “CUHZ52” Telegram account. This number matched to one Winfrey had provided in a separate September 2023 law enforcement case.

Detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Winfrey on March 27 and, in a post-Miranda interview, Winfrey admitted to involvement with Scott in past schemes to create staged robberies. He said a contact by individual known as “Abi” would coordinate the robbery schemes with them, providing details for the fake victims they would target, and sending payments for the jobs through Cash App.

Detectives used the dates of Cash App transactions involving Scott and Winfrey as a reference, and searched for similar robbery incidents reported to area law enforcement officials around the same time. In their court filings, detectives described two other reported robberies they believe matched the scheme involving Scott and Winfrey.

After an apparent robbery at a gas station on Feb. 27, 2023, three Asian men—Riyaz Vadsariya, Akbar Jiwani, and Naseeruddin Jiwani—told investigators they were victimized in the encounter. The men said a black male accosted them and took their cash. Investigators in that case noted the suspect did not take other items from the men, such as watches, jewelry, or credit cards. Investigators were also told security cameras at the gas station were not working. These three Asian men later filed U Visa applications.

After a reported robbery at a gas station May 5, 2023, an Asian male complainant named Roydon Rodrigues told police the suspect had taken his wallet, which had cash in it at the time, but not credit cards or identification documents. Detectives investigating Scott’s death said it’s uncommon for people to not carry ID or credit cards in their wallets, and believe this pattern suggests Rodrigues knew that his wallet might be taken prior to the May 2023 robbery.

Detectives found additional reason to be suspicious of the May 2023 robbery report, noting Rodrigues and an Asian female complainant named Carmen Fernandes provided few descriptive details about their alleged assailant, and an employee at the gas station was unable to provide surveillance camera footage from the store.

The affidavit states Roydon Rodrigues and Carmen Fernandes submitted U Visa applications after the May 2023 robbery.

Detectives say they found a Cash App transaction between Winfrey and Scott on May 4, 2023, a day prior to this incident involving Rodrigues and Fernandes.

“Based on the foregoing, affiant believes that on January 27, 2024, Rasshaud Scott participated in the staged aggravated robbery of Ransley Fernandes and Gleena Rodriguez,” the affidavit states. “With the assistance of and at the direction of William Winfrey. Further, affiant believes from the facts revealed in her investigation that the purpose of the staged aggravated robbery was to allow the apparent victims of said aggravated robbery to utilize their statuses as victims of crimes in order to apply for/obtain a U-Visa.”

Winfrey was charged last week with Scott’s murder. An April 4 charging document states a murder charge is warranted when a defendant is engaged in the commission of a criminal act they knew to be dangerous, and a person dies in the commission of said criminal act. The charging document states Winfrey knew the robbery schemes he and Scott were dangerous, and alleges Winfrey was an active participant in such a scheme on Jan. 27, when Scott was fatally shot by a bystander.

No attorney was listed for Winfrey as of

The armed bystander in this case, identified through court filings as Jesus Vargas, states Vargas fled the scene of the shooting but offered his testimony to investigators after they identified him as the potential shooter. Vargas told detectives he believed he was witnessing an assault on the night of Jan. 27, that Scott was armed, and that he was in danger.

Vargas told police he left the scene because he was on probation.

It remains to be seen if other individuals will be charged over this alleged botched staged robbery.

Police told Fox 26 the decision to charge Vargas has been sent to a grand jury.

It’s unclear if prosecutors at the state or federal level are considering prosecuting the individuals Houston Police detectives believe may have been in on the schemes as alleged fake victims.

Law enforcement officials may be growing increasingly wary of schemes to facilitate fraudulent U-Visa applications.

In December, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts hit two New York residents—Rambhai Patel and Balwinder Singh—with charges related to visa fraud. Federal prosecutors allege these two men were involved in facilitating staged robberies for a list of clients seeking U-Visa eligibility