2 California men sentenced in Madison gas skimming scheme

MADISON, Wis. — Two California men convicted of stealing credit card information skimmed from Madison gas pumps have been sentenced to probation.

The Wisconsin State Journal reports Wafig Jebarah of Los Angeles and Arsen Piloyan of Van Nuys were both sentenced Friday to three years of probation including six months in jail.

They were arrested last year after police investigating skimmers on Madison-area gas pumps were notified by UW Credit Union that some of their customers' credit card information had been stolen after making purchases at Capitol Petro Mart. Prosecutors say police seized thumb drives from the men containing credit card numbers from about 1,500 people.

Piloyan's attorney says the men were "stooges" in a larger identity theft scheme. Prosecutors say the men have refused to say who they were working for.