Failed Fraud: Taco truck owner arrested in fake robbery, arson plot

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Caught on camera and caught in a lie.

The Tulare County Sheriff's Office says a food truck owner staged a robbery and committed insurance fraud.

The crime took place on August 2, but the suspected man behind the plan wasn't arrested until the 12th.

The surveillance video of the incident is now causing a lot of talk online and around Visalia.

"Honestly, kind of crazy, but you can't put anything past people these days," said Patricia Samaniego, Visalia Local.

"I thought that was crazy," said Joey Anderson, Visalia local. "You hear about that happening in big cities and on TV or something like that, but for somebody to do that fraud here in Visalia? You don't see that happening a lot."

The Tulare County Sheriff's Office said they were called to Caldwell and Highway 99 in Visalia on August 2 to investigate a robbery of a taco truck.

The owner, Pablo Serrano, told deputies two men took more than $800 in cash and an $80,000 pickup truck he uses to tow his food trailer.

They even handed over surveillance videos to officers showing the crime.

While reviewing the video, another call came in.

"And almost simultaneously, we got a call for a vehicle on fire in the Lindcove - Woodlake area," said Lt. Randy Gunderman, Tulare County Sheriff's Office.

Lt. Gunderman said while responding, they found Juan Mendez walking down the road not far from the truck. They quickly tied the truck back to Serrano and Mendez to the surveillance video.

Mendez was arrested, and that's when Lt. Gunderman said he had revealed the plot.

"At that point, detectives were led to believe that a meeting had taken place a couple of weeks prior on July 19," said Gunderman. "They were able to confirm the meeting did take place via video surveillance."

The following day, investigators said Serrano had made an insurance claim for his burned vehicle.

Just days before he was arrested, Serrano posted this video to Instagram, saying he had spoken to a detective about the case and that he had spent the day following the incident in the hospital.

The Sheriff's Office referred to the scheme online as "Nacho Typical Crime," cashing in on the puns but not taking false reports lightly.

"They were blatantly taking advantage of the system," said Gunderman. "From the insurance companies to the law enforcement officers, to the arson investigators -- it's disheartening that people try to cheat the system that way."

Serrano was arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit a crime, arson, and insurance fraud; he is being held on a $150,000 bond. Mendez was also arrested for conspiracy and arson. His bond is $50,000.

Deputies are looking for a third person for questioning but have not released a name.

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