BRUNSWICK - Camden County businessman Fairley Cisco surrendered to FBI agents Friday to face federal charges accusing him and four others of a multimillion-dollar fuel fraud scheme and a bribery conspiracy.
Cisco, 67, of St. Marys, is charged along with his nephew, a former son-in-law and two others with cheating customers out of millions of dollars by deliberately tampering with fuel pump measuring devices at his three gas stations along Interstate 95 in Camden County from 1995 through March 2008.
In addition to Cisco, his nephew, Winston "Eric" Cisco, 47, of White Oak; Robert "Rob" Michael Clark, 31, of Folkston; Regina Dianne Cheung Pierce, 33, also of Folkston; and Britt Clinton "Clint" Moore, 42, of Fernandina Beach, are charged in the case.
All five were involved in the operation or management of the Cisco stations when the fraud occurred, according to the indictment.
An arrest warrant had been issued for Cisco, who was out of state Thursday when U.S. Magistrate James Graham unsealed a 17-count indictment charging all five with conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and criminal trademark infringement.
After turning himself in to the FBI in Brunswick, Cisco appeared before Graham, who set his bail at $100,000 despite prosecutors' request that he be jailed.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Tanner cited the severity and extent of the charges against Cisco and his co-defendants. There is a risk that Cisco might flee or possibly threaten, intimidate or retaliate against potential government witnesses, Tanner said.
Tanner gave Graham transcripts and portions of a tape recording purportedly of Cisco and the others conspiring in 2008 to thwart investigators. Those efforts included destroying financial records and other documents from the three gas stations, he said.
Cisco had Moore, who is his former son-in-law, remove all of the records from the stations beginning the day after the investigation began, Tanner said.
"A cargo container truck packed floor to ceiling, front to back with records were transported to Fairley Cisco's house where they burned them," Tanner told Graham.
In March 2008, which was a month after the investigation began, Cisco and the others met at his house for a meeting that was secretly recorded, said Tanner, who later declined comment about the tape.
"Fairley Cisco had the meeting at his house to arrange a false story to tell the investigators.
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