Maryland indictment alleges stolen credit cards funded gift-card purchases

Federal prosecutors in Maryland have charged Sharieff Tate Pierre with 21 counts of wire fraud and 21 counts of aggravated identity theft in a case involving gift cards allegedly bought with stolen credit cards. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland announced the indictment on October 7, reporting 21 alleged victims and losses of $53,300.49. [S01] Pierre, 36, of Randallstown, is accused of obtaining credit cards intended for other people and using their names and dates of birth without permission. Prosecutors say he used the cards to buy gift cards and subsequently converted gift-card value to cash through Western Union . Those statements are allegations in a pending criminal case; Pierre is presumed innocent unless proved guilty. [S01] The alleged funding fraud began before the gift-card purchase According to the announcement, investigators began examining the conduct in July 2021 after a financial institution reported that Maryland customers had not received credit cards sent through the mail. Unauthorised charges later appeared on those accounts. The newly reported event is the indictment, rather than the start of that older investigation. [S01] The case places gift cards in an alleged conversion chain involving someone else’s credit account. It does not identify a breach of a