Credit Card

FREDERICK, Md. - Chevy Chase Bank has entered into a binding agreement to sell its first credit card business to First USA, according to a press release. First USA will operate the Frederick facility and will offer employment to all credit card employees, according to the release. Under the terms of the agreement, First USA has agreed to offer the employees comparable positions with their compensation, benefits and seniority intact. Chevy Chase will retain the ability to provide credit card products to its local depositor base, according to the release.

Using a credit card is an important responsibility. A good credit history can help you get a job, make major purchases and accomplish many short and long-term goals. A poor credit history can make it harder for you to rent an apartment, buy a car or fulfill a dream. It is important to know how credit can change your spending power and how you can recognize the danger signs of credit and avoid serious problems. The greatest disadvantage of credit use is losing financial flexibility in managing your own money.

A man accused of buying copper with a stolen credit card has been charged with theft and credit-card theft, the Washington County Sheriff's Office said. Allen Jin Ho Young, 30, address unavailable, was charged with theft of less than $100 and credit-card theft of more than $500, according to a sheriff's office news release. Deputy Matthew Sullivan said he was called to the area of Martin L. "Marty" Snook Park in Halfway on Thursday afternoon for a report of a man cutting copper and loading it into a vehicle.

HAGERSTOWN -- A Hagerstown man was sentenced Thursday by three judges in Washington County Circuit Court to three years and one day in prison for his role in a credit card theft scheme and two instances of probation violations. Michael Shawn Clark, 44, of 141 King St., pleaded guilty before Circuit Judge Daniel P. Dwyer to a misdemeanor charge of theft scheme less than $500. In exchange for the plea, charges of use or disclosure of credit card numbers and fraud by personal identification information theft were dismissed.

scottb@herald-mail.com HAGERSTOWN - A Hagerstown man was out on bail Wednesday after being charged with selling diesel fuel for about $1 per gallon that he allegedly purchased with a stolen credit card, a Washington County Sheriff's Department investigator said. Eric Allen Reid, 36, of Hagerstown, publicized the discount cost of the fuel over CB radio, investigator Greg Alton said. Reid charged about $53,000 to his former employer's credit card since June, Alton said.

andrews@herald-mail.com So many fraudulent credit card transactions would be avoided, experts say, if clerks would only turn the card over. The back is where the credit card holder's signature is. If the signature on the card doesn't match the signature on the sales slip, the answer should be "No sale. " Mindy Baker, the manager of Garfield's at Valley Mall, said employees will ask for another form of identification if there's no signature on the card. Dan O'Connell of O'Connell Jewelers at Valley Mall said it's automatic at his store to flip the card over and compare the signatures.

A woman accused of attempting to defraud the law firm where she worked was arraigned Wednesday on 56 felony counts of credit card fraud by Berkeley County Magistrate Sandra L. Miller. Lacy Godby, 35, of 23 East Calabash Court in Martinsburg, is accused of making $7,881 in purchases with a credit card that belonged to the Burke, Schultz, Harman & Jenkinson law firm, according to court records. The purchases between January 2009 and September 2010 included two laptop computers from Walmart, which Godby told police she then sold and/or traded for drugs, according to a complaint by West Virginia State Police Cpl. J.M. Walker.

A Hagerstown man has been charged in Frederick County Circuit Court with using a state-issued credit card to steal almost $95,000 while employed at the Victor Cullen Center, according to the Maryland Attorney General's Office. Douglas Allen Fairfax, 42, of 1008 Hagerstown Boulevard, is charged with one count of theft between $10,000 and $100,000, records said. His initial court appearance is set for May 3, court records said. Fairfax is accused of using the credit card to steal $94,868 between Jan. 18, 2011, and Feb. 29, 2012, while employed as the food administrator at the Victor Cullen Center., a Maryland Department of Juvenile Services secure treatment center in Sabillasville, Md., the attorney general's news release said.

A Baltimore County man convicted in May of a 2008 jewelry store robbery at Valley Mall was sentenced Monday in Washington County Circuit Court to 20 years in prison. A jury found Bashawn Moneak Montgomery, 33, of Reisterstown, Md., guilty of robbery for intimidating an employee at King’s Jewelry into allowing him to purchase rings using a stolen credit card number June 8, 2008, according to trial testimony. The jury also convicted Montgomery of several theft and credit card theft offenses, but acquitted him of false imprisonment, court records show.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- The Washington County Sheriff's Office is looking for help identifying two men involved in the purchase of a TV with a stolen credit card, Deputy Chris Peiffer said Sunday. A 46-inch Sanyo TV was purchased with a stolen credit card at the Hagerstown Walmart on April 16, Peiffer said. The credit card was stolen from a residence earlier that day. The first man walked out of the store at 3:14 p.m., Peiffer said. The man was about 6 feet tall, had a medium build, brown hair, and a thick, short, brown goatee.

The administrator and former chief of The Volunteer Fire Co. of Halfway, Md. Inc., requested a jury trial on theft  and theft scheme charges during an appearance Thursday in District Court. District Judge Ralph H. France II ordered the case of Jeffrey C. Ringer forwarded to Circuit Court. Ringer, 53, of 11221 Hollywood Road in Hagerstown, was charged earlier this year with misusing more than $10,000 in company funds over four years to pay for bar and restaurant bills, and a family member's tuition, according to the application for statement of charges filed by Maryland State Police.

A Hagerstown man has been charged in Frederick County Circuit Court with using a state-issued credit card to steal almost $95,000 while employed at the Victor Cullen Center, according to the Maryland Attorney General's Office. Douglas Allen Fairfax, 42, of 1008 Hagerstown Boulevard, is charged with one count of theft between $10,000 and $100,000, records said. His initial court appearance is set for May 3, court records said. Fairfax is accused of using the credit card to steal $94,868 between Jan. 18, 2011, and Feb. 29, 2012, while employed as the food administrator at the Victor Cullen Center., a Maryland Department of Juvenile Services secure treatment center in Sabillasville, Md., the attorney general's news release said.

Jeffrey C. Ringer, the administrator and former chief of The Volunteer Fire Company of Halfway, Md. Inc., has been charged with misusing more than $10,000 in company funds over four years to pay for bar and restaurant bills, and a family member's tuition, according to the application for statement of charges filed by Maryland State Police. Ringer, 53, of 11221 Hollywood Road, Hagerstown, was issued a summons Wednesday on charges of theft of more than $500 and theft scheme of more than $500, Washington County District Court records said.

A New York woman faces up to 10 years in prison for fraudulently obtaining cash from at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races. U.S. Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld II said Monday that 29-year-old Rebecca Hill of Jamaica, Queens, pleaded guilty to using a counterfeit access device at the casino in Charles Town, W.Va. Ihlenfeld said Hill used a counterfeit credit card to obtain a cash advance at the casino in 2010. Hill entered her plea recently in federal court in Martinsburg.

In January and February If you usually find yourself facing a stack of bills from holiday shopping, resolve this year to not let your spending get out of control. The holiday season is a time to share, enjoy family and friends, and to give more of ourselves. By planning ahead, you can be creative and thoughtful, yet stay within your budget.  Plan your holiday budget based on what you can realistically afford. Take a look at your finances. Have you saved for holiday expenses? Or will the gifts need to be purchased from regular monthly disposable income?

“This is about Allan Powell editorial, 'Obama's win takes us forward.' Forward to what, Mr. Powell? The gas prices have doubled in the last four years. Forward to your not-in-touch-with-reality president apologizing to other countries? Forward to a military where cuts may come close to a billion dollars? And you bring up in your article all the negative against Mitt Romney, but dismiss any negative against President Obama? Like putting us in a $6 trillion debt, and the Libya cover-up.

Don't rehire the company that trashed your house To the editor: Here's an analogy of what the upcoming election looks like to me: You hire a company to look after your property. After they are on the job for some time you go to inspect the property.  The carpets and drapes are a shambles; the place is nearly destroyed and the yard is dead. You fire the first company and hire someone else to clean up and repair the damage. After a short time the first company comes back and says that the second company isn't cleaning up the mess fast enough so you should hire them back.

Woman uses stolen credit card at Target A woman used a stolen credit card to buy more than $600 worth of merchandise from Target on Cole Road, the Washington County Sheriff's Office said Thursday. The purchase was made after the credit card was stolen July 30 from an employee at Dollar Tree at 11305 Massey Blvd., according to a sheriff's office news release. Anyone with information about the identity of the woman may call the sheriff's office at 240-313-2878. Big Pool Road fire being investigated CLEAR SPRING - A Wednesday night fire on Big Pool Road that caused $3,000 in damages to a 2002 Mitsubishi Eclipse is being investigated by the Maryland State Fire Marshal's office.

“I'm going to solve this problem once and for all. Here's what you do: You build a ballpark at HCC. You shift the old folks out there four times a week, and let them play baseball. Charge admission. Two birds, one stone. You're welcome, Hagerstown.” - Smithsburg “I am being tormented to death by that credit card company that says they can lower your interest. I don't even have a credit card, and they keep calling me. They have called me every day this week, and they just woke me up from a nap, and I'm sick.

A '50s & '60s dance will be part of the final weekend of WaynesboroFest on Saturday, July 7, at American Legion Post 15, 63 E. Main St., Waynesboro.  Doors will open at 6 p.m. with dancing from 7 to 11 p.m. There will be a cash bar and light snacks will be available for purchase. Larry Leonard of LL DeeJay will provide the music. Additional parking is available in the Grove-Bowersox Funeral Home lot between Walnut Street & South Broad Street. Tickets cost $7 in advance or $10 at the door.