FBI seeks more victims in Corpus Christi fraud, kidnapping case

The FBI is asking residents across South Texas to come forward if they had contact with Victor Daniel “Danny” Almaguer, the Corpus Christi tire shop owner now held on federal charges including wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and kidnapping. Investigators said the case may reach beyond the first known victim and could include people in Corpus Christi, Houston, San Antonio and the Rio Grande Valley.

The public notice, issued by the FBI Corpus Christi Resident Agency, pointed to a case built around an ordinary business setting that prosecutors say was used as cover for violent crime and financial exploitation. Federal court records say a victim was lured through a fake Facebook Marketplace post offering $750 to transport tires, then taken to Danny’s Tire Service on Baldwin Boulevard and held against his will in an office. The allegations say he was beaten, forced to withdraw cash from multiple Bank of America ATMs, compelled to buy jewelry, and then hit with unauthorized credit lines after his personal information was stolen.

Federal reporting identified Robert Luis Saldana as a co-defendant in the case, while another co-defendant had been redacted in earlier filings. The tire shop was raided on September 29, 2025, after the indictment was unsealed in the Southern District of Texas. Reporting tied the allegations to a March 13-14, 2025 time frame, when the fake job offer was used to draw the victim to the business.

The FBI said Almaguer had recently been arrested and remained in custody when it made the appeal. The bureau gave a tip line, 832-426-0778, and an online victim-reporting form, and said investigators can take reports in English and Spanish. It also said federal law requires the agency to identify victims of crimes it investigates and that victims may be eligible for services, restitution and rights under federal or state law.

That emphasis matters in a case like this because investigators are not only trying to prove a pattern of fraud and kidnapping, but also to find people who may have stayed quiet out of fear, dependence or shame. In practical terms, the FBI’s warning signals that the alleged scheme may have reached farther than the current indictment shows, and that anyone who dealt with Almaguer or his associates could help fill in the record of what happened inside and around the shop.