The ever expanding investigation into the credit and debit card fraud at Sierra Madre’s EVG gas station will now have the assistance of the Secret Service, Mayor Joe Mosca said at a press conference early Thursday morning. City officials said they are seeking three men in connection with the case, including EVG owner Eugeny Yakimenko and two of this business associates.

Police also released a photograph of an individual who withdrew funds from a victim’s account at an ATM in Montebello on Dec. 30, just days after the EVG station suddenly closed and fraudulent charges began to appear on the bank statements of area residents.

Sierra Madre Police Chief Marilyn Diaz said it is not certain whether or not the man in the photograph is Yakimenko or one of his associates.

“I am pleased to announce that the United States Secret Service has graciously agreed to assign agents to jointly investigate this case with the Sierra Madre Police Department,” Mosca said in a prepared statement. “The Secret Service has a financial crimes unit that specializes in identity theft, access device fraud, fraudulent automated payment systems and teller machine, and bank fraud,” Mosca said.

Asked whether or not the Secret Service’s involvement indicated the investigation has crossed state or international boundaries, Diaz said that federal law mandated their involvement in identity theft cases such as this. It is believed Yakimenko is of Russian or Armenian decent, but Diaz said she could not comment on possible connections to organized crime in those countries.

Yakimenko closed his business and left town over the Christmas holiday weekend and police have been seeking him for questioning ever since an initial batch of 175 fraudulent charges were made to personal credit and debit cards of area residents.

As of Thursday morning more than 280 people had been victimized in the scam, with the total amount of fraudulent charges now at more than $82,000. Police and city officials are still urging anyone who visited the station within the last year to check their bank accounts for fraudulent charges. Additionally, some area residents have been victimized by the scam despite having never visited the EVG station. In response to these reports, Sierra Madre Police examined the credit card readers at the Valero gas station up the street last week.

Valero owner Edgar Artenyan has consistently maintained that his station has no connection to the fraudulent charges and has been cooperating with police throughout the investigation.

Police are asking anyone who may be able to identify the man in the photograph to contact Detective Gene Gray of the SMPD at (626) 355-7534.