Claremore Police Arrest Man Accused Of Scamming Meat Markets Out Of Thousands

Claremore Police arrest a Cuban man they say helped steal more than $20,000 from area meat markets in an elaborate scheme.

Police say Walter Cadenas-Rodriguez was the driver who picked up the stolen meat and hauled it back to Houston. 

Police say the man was in the country illegally, and one of the victims helped make the arrest. 

Police say the thieves call and order several thousand dollars worth of meat, pay for it with a credit card, and then, after they pick up the meat, call the bank and report the card stolen to cancel the payment. 

Then, the business is out both the meat and the money. 

Eric Walke and his family own Walke Meat Company near Claremore, and now they are out more than $4,000, but it could have been much more. 

He says someone called in a $4,000 meat order last week and insisted on paying with a credit card. 

Walke says the man showed up after hours with a small SUV to pick up the 800-pound order, the first of several red flags. 

“Coming after hours was odd to us. When we told him what our hours were, he said well, just leave the meat out, and I’ll come get it. Well, it’s 100 degrees out. Who’s going to? That’s odd," said Walke. 

Then Walke found out another local meat shop had been taken from days earlier. Walke says this week, the thieves placed a $9,000 order, but this time, Walke was ready for them. 

He sent them a fake receipt and waited for them to arrive. 

“So he shows up, shows them the receipt. They come back to the office; their eyes are about this big. Hey, that guy is here," said Walke. 

Claremore Police arrived within minutes and arrested Walter Cadenas-Rodriguez. 

Police, the Rogers County DA’s Office and Homeland Security learned Rodriguez helped take more than $13,000 from a meat shop in Ponca City and $4,000 from another one in Mayes County.

“It’s crippling to some people. You know $10,000 could put somebody out of business. And they are all just people like us," said Walke. 

But it didn’t stop after the arrest. 

Walke says he got a text from Rodriguez’ boss saying he couldn’t get ahold of his driver, so he planned pick up the order himself. 

Police say they found more receipts on Rodriguez’s phone from other meat shops across Oklahoma and Texas. Investigators plan to make more arrests.