Credit Card

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- The manager of the 2007 state champion South Berkeley Little League team was arraigned Thursday on 133 counts of fraudulent use of the nonprofit organization's credit card, according to court records. Larry Anthony Custer, 44, of 35 Bryarly Mill Lane in Inwood, W.Va., was in Eastern Regional Jail Thursday night on a $133,000 bond set by Berkeley County Magistrate Harry L. Snow, according to court and jail records. Custer turned himself in Thursday, a week after a warrant was issued for his arrest, according to court officials.

A Washington County Circuit Court judge Thursday sentenced a Williamsport woman to three years in state prison after she pleaded guilty to stealing from a blind relative. Krista Sue Hudson, 42, of 16818 Tammany Manor Road pleaded guilty to two counts of theft of less than $1,000 for using the credit card of the 86-year-old victim to buy $300 worth of gift cards at a department store and $500 in gift cards from a supermarket. She was charged in June by the Washington County Sheriff's Office.

One count of felony theft and two credit card violations have been filed against a King's Jewelry store employee for allegedly using a customer's credit card number to purchase more than $2,000 in jewelry in December. Dawn Malissa Bricker, 26, of 40 S. Cannon Ave., was employed at King's Jewelry, Prime Outlet Boulevard, at the time of the incident, according to Maryland State Police. The store manager told police she got a call from a Baltimore woman who reported a $2,105.

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.

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.

Paying taxes by credit card Editor's Note: Each Friday, Herald-Mail reporters and editors will answer some of the questions that are called in by readers to Mail Call. Consider this us returning your call. Q. "I just recently paid my taxes. I called to see if they'd take a credit card to pay them, because I have trouble walking and have asbestosis. The city doesn't charge you to take your credit card, but I found out the county charges anybody with a credit card to pay 2.5 percent over what you owe, for accepting the credit card.

The Hagerstown Police Department said a phone scam might be happening in the Hagerstown area and that people are reminded to be careful when asked to provide credit card or bank account information over the phone. Police said in a written statement Friday the possible phone scam offers parents and students materials at a discounted price. The caller asks for credit card information to be given immediately, but does not disclose appropriate business information such as full company name, contact person, business address and a telephone number that can be confirmed, police said.

A scheme involving $18,000 in cash advances from overdrawn credit cards led to the conviction Thursday of a Hagerstown woman on 13 charges by a Washington County Circuit Court jury. Cathy Lorraine Fogle, 46, of 16544 Fairview Road, was allowed to remain free pending completion of a pre-sentence investigation ordered by Judge W. Kennedy Boone III. The jury convicted on six counts of bad checks, six counts of felony theft and one count of theft and scheme. According to court records, Fogle wrote six cash advances on a Discover credit card and an MBNA credit card during the first week in February 1998 for amounts ranging from $2,500 to $4,850.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - The owner of a Martinsburg restaurant is wanted on an arrest warrant charging him with running up almost $30,000 on a falsified credit card, according to West Virginia State Police. Police have been unable to find Taste of Italy owner Giuseppe Cincinnato and have asked federal authorities to revoke the work visas and passports for Cincinnato and his immediate family, said State Police Sgt. Jim Humphrey. The arrest warrants for credit card forgery and fraudulent use of a counterfeit card were issued earlier this week after a police investigation of incidents dating back to October, when Cincinnato took over the restaurant on Edwin Miller Boulevard near Martinsburg.

A conspiracy theory raised by an employee accused of theft failed to convince a Washington County Circuit Court jury Monday. After 20 minutes of deliberations, the jury found Dawn Malissa Bricker of Hagerstown guilty of one count of felony theft and one credit card offense, court records said. Bricker, 27, of 40 S. Cannon Ave., was sentenced by Judge Frederick Wright to four years on each count, concurrent to each other. He then suspended the entire sentence, court records said.