Investigators now believe a January altercation at a Houston area gas station that ended when a bystander shot and killed a robbery suspect was actually part of a staged attack to facilitate fraudulent insurance and immigration claims.
22-year-old Rasshauud Scott was shot and killed during an altercation at the Chevron gas station at 11095 Ella Blvd in Houston on Jan. 27. In a Monday press update, the Houston Police Department said witnesses told homicide detectives they had seen a male suspect had robbed multiple people while they were pumping gas before another male who witnesses one of the robberies fired on the suspect, whom police identified as the deceased 22-year-old.
Police say the shooting suspect initially left the scene, but they were subsequently able to identify him as Jesus Vargas. Detectives interviewed Mr. Vargas, who described witnessing the robbery, fearing for his life and the lives of others at the gas station, and firing his weapon. After shooting the robbery suspect, Mr. Vargas said he approached one of the apparent robbery victims and told him to retrieve his stolen possessions but asked the apparent victim not to identify him as he is on probation.
Upon further investigation, Houston police detectives found Mr. Scott’s phone and uncovered messages on the encrypted messaging app Telegram that appeared to detail a plan to carry out a robbery. An individual with the Telegram handle “CUHZ52” sent messages to Mr. Scott’s device the night before the fatal shooting, including a photo of a car that had been occupied on the night of the fatal encounter by two of Mr. Scott’s apparent robbery victims, Ransley Fernandes and Gleena Rodriguez. Another photo sent to Mr. Scott’s device appeared to be a selfie of Mr. Fernandes.
Detectives asked Mr. Fernandes about the photos and he confirmed that the selfie was indeed his image, but said he took it in December and was unsure if he shared it with anyone or posted it to social media.
Additional messages sent from “CUHZ52” to Mr. Scott’s device said “PUMP 8,” “THEY GONE BE THERE AT 12:30,” as well as messages telling Mr. Scott “JUST DON’T HIT HIS WIFE” and “WHEN YOU DONE RUN MAKE ALL THE [expletive] TO LOOK REAL.”
Investigators later identified a phone number linked to the CUHZ52 Telegram account that corresponded to a number provided to police by 30-year-old William Xavier Winfrey in a prior law enforcement investigation.
Detectives subsequently interviewed Mr. Scott’s widow, Sade Beverly, who said the robbery at the Chevron gas station on Jan. 27 was a setup and that her fiance had carried out similar staged attacks in the past. She told detectives her deceased fiance would coordinate with fake victims who could later use the incident to file insurance claims.
Mr. Winfrey was arrested on March 27 in connection with the case and, according to the affidavit, admitted to participating in staged robberies and indicated he was aware of the potential dangers of such a scheme.
Last week, Mr. Winfrey was charged in a Harris County court with a felony murder count for Mr. Scott’s death. An affidavit states the murder charge is warranted in cases where a defendant is involved in the commission of a criminal act they knew to be dangerous, and a person dies in the commission of said criminal act. Because they allege Mr. Winfrey was knowingly involved in a fraud scheme involving staged violent robberies, he should be held criminally responsible for Mr. Scott’s death at the hands of the intervening bystander, Mr. Vargas.
An attorney for Mr. Winfrey was not listed in court files reviewed by NTD News on Tuesday.
Staged Robberies Facilitated Immigration Fraud: Investigators
Detectives suspected these staged robberies were also done to facilitate applications for U nonimmigrant status visas (U Visas), which allow noncitizens to temporarily remain in the United States if they’ve been the victim of a qualifying crime within the United States.
The investigators identified Cash App transactions between Mr. Winfrey and Mr. Scott that they believed constituted payments for their profits from these staged robberies. The detectives found similar Cash App transactions that appeared to coincide with similar robbery incidents. Detectives were able to identify at least two prior incidents in which robbery victims filed for U Visas.
Following a reported robbery at a gas station on May 5, 2023, a complainant identified as an Asian male named Roydon Rodrigues told police the robbery suspect took his wallet, making off with some cash, but that he had not used the wallet to carry other items like credit cards, and identification documents.
“I know through training and experience that it is uncommon for people to not carry more personal items or credit cards inside of their wallets or purses, and believe this is consistent with the complainants having prior knowledge the items would be taken,” Houston Police Detective Katie Clark said in an affidavit spelling out the alleged staged robbery scheme.
Detectives said Mr. Rodrigues and another apparent victim from the May 5 incident, an Asian female named Carmen Fernandes, offered police few details about the May 5 robbery suspect, and a gas station attendant was unable to provide surveillance footage of the incident. Mr. Rodrigues and Ms. Fernandes later filed U Visa claims.
The investigators found Cash App transfers involving Mr. Scott and Mr. Winfrey on May 4, 2023, the day before the apparent robbery.
In a Feb. 27, 2023 incident, three Asian men—Riyaz Vadsariya, Akbar Jiwani, and Naseeruddin Jiwani—told police they were assaulted at a gas station by a black male who demanded only their cash without taking other items from them like credit cards, watches, and jewelry. Police investigating that incident were later told security cameras at that gas station were not functional. The three apparent victims later filed for U Visas.
Detectives believe these February and May 2023 robberies were both staged and that the Jan. 27 robbery was part of this pattern of staged attacks meant to facilitate immigration fraud.
NTD News reached out to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Texas, the federal court district encompassing the Houston area, to see if it is investigating immigration fraud involving Mr. Winfrey or other individuals who claimed victimization in these prior cases. The federal prosecutors office did not respond by press time.
Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts charged two New York men in December, alleging they participated in a similar scheme to facilitate fraudulent U Visa claims.
