Credit Card

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.

Man guilty in theft scheme A Washington County man and woman appeared in Washington County District Court last Thursday on credit card theft charges in connection with $5,800 charged on a stolen Sheetz credit card. John Fitzgerald Arvin Sr. of 13 E. Green St. in Funkstown, and Gina Faye Swartz, of 673 Highland Way in Hagerstown, were charged with 20 counts each of theft of less than $300 and use of another person's credit card, and one count each of theft scheme more than $300 and credit card theft.

HAGERSTOWN - Whether it is an e-mail informing you of lottery earnings in a far-off country or a person who calls asking for account numbers to verify bank information, Washington County Sheriff's Department Deputy 1st Class Dan Watson says to be wary. "If you really need something, you initiate contact with the credit card company or the car (dealership) or the bank, and if you initiate contact, it's fine," Watson said. Otherwise, hit the delete button or hang up, Watson said.

A Baltimore County man could face a minimum of 10 years in prison after a Washington County Circuit Court jury convicted him this week of robbing a Hagerstown area jewelry store in 2008. Bashawn Moneak Montgomery, 33, of Reisterstown was also convicted on Monday of second-degree assault and several theft and credit-card offenses. The jury, however, found him not guilty of false imprisonment in the June 8, 2008, robbery at King’s Jewelry in Valley Mall. Assistant State’s Attorney Christopher McCormack said he will ask the court to impose an enhanced sentence because Montgomery has a previous conviction for a violent crime, a 2003 armed robbery in Baltimore City.

James Fonz Johnson, chief of the Bakerton Volunteer Fire Co., was charged earlier this week on a single count of felony false pretense, according to Jefferson County Magistrate Court records.Johnson, 25, of 99 Driftwood Drive, Gerrardstown, W.Va., was charged Monday and arraigned before Jefferson County Magistrate William Senseney Tuesday. He was released on $10,000 bond.According to court records, on Jan. 30, Johnson used a fire department credit card to buy food that was not delivered to the department.

laurae@herald-mail.com For about 10 years, Matt Guiger remained loyal to one credit card company that gave him a competitive interest rate. But since he pays off the balance every month, the low interest really wasn't a benefit to him. A few months ago, he decided to switch to a Discover card that earns him up to 2 percent cash back for his purchases. "I try to rack that thing up as much as I can," said Guiger, 29, a systems engineer for Netconn Solutions of Hagerstown.

Even the Federal Trade Commission concedes that people probably can't entirely prevent identity theft. But risk can be reduced if personal information is carefully managed. · Order a copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus and make sure it's accurate and contains only activities authorized by you. · Place passwords on your credit card, bank and phone accounts, avoiding easily available information such as your mother's maiden name, your birth date, the last four digits of your Social Security number or your phone number, or a series of consecutive numbers.

The Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland has issued a consumer alert regarding two credit card scams that are appearing on the Internet. "Consumers are receiving e-mails from scammers stating that they represent Best Buy or the Discover Card Co.," Nicholas G. Greaves, president of the local Better Business Bureau, said. "In both cases involving Best Buy, the e-mailers contend that they are from the BestBuy.com Fraud Department. They request information such as the consumers' social security number and credit card information.

Woman charged with identity theft A Washington County woman has been charged in a fraud/identity theft investigation that was initiated in March, according to court records. Diana J. Stout, 48, of 11034 Sani Lane, was charged with three counts of fraud/identity theft, making a false statement in a credit card application, unlawful use of a credit card number and two counts of use of a forged credit card more than $500, records state. A summons for Stout was issued last month, records state.

By MARLO BARNHART Staff Writer An investigator with the Washington County Public Defender's office was charged Wednesday with illegal drug possession after he allegedly bought crack cocaine from an undercover drug agent, according to court records. Bruce Scott Gilbert, 33, of 706 S. Samuel St., Charles Town, W.Va., was charged with possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia. He was released on personal recognizance, Washington County District Court records said. On Tuesday, Washington County Narcotics Task Force agents charged Ruki Kareem Medley with attempted distribution of illegal drugs.