Canonical URL: https://giftcard.news/fraud-security/maryland-indictment-stolen-credit-cards-gift-card-purchases/ --- description: Federal prosecutors charged a Maryland man with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, alleging a gift-card scheme caused $53,300.49 in losses to 21 people. title: Maryland indictment alleges stolen credit cards funded gift-card purchases image: https://giftcard.news/images/social/v1/maryland-indictment-alleges-stolen-credit-cards-funded-gift-card-purchases-bd183042cc23b583e2e28e56825604a8.jpg --- 1. [Home](https://giftcard.news/) 2. [Fraud & Security](https://giftcard.news/fraud-security/) # Maryland indictment alleges stolen credit cards funded gift-card purchases Federal prosecutors charged a Maryland man with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, alleging a gift-card scheme caused $53,300.49 in losses to 21 people. By [Daniel Brooks](https://giftcard.news/author/daniel-brooks/) October 7, 2026 2 min read [ Google News ](https://google.com/preferences/source?q=giftcard.news&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news) Share [ ](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Ffraud-security%2Fmaryland-indictment-stolen-credit-cards-gift-card-purchases%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dx%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&text=Maryland+indictment+alleges+stolen+credit+cards+funded+gift-card+purchases&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "X") [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Ffraud-security%2Fmaryland-indictment-stolen-credit-cards-gift-card-purchases%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dlinkedin%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "LinkedIn") [ ](https://wa.me/?text=Maryland+indictment+alleges+stolen+credit+cards+funded+gift-card+purchases+https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Ffraud-security%2Fmaryland-indictment-stolen-credit-cards-gift-card-purchases%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dwhatsapp%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "WhatsApp") ![Exterior of the United States District Court building in Baltimore with an outdoor sculpture](https://giftcard.news/images/variants/v1/maryland-indictment-alleges-stolen-credit-cards-funded-gift-card-purchases-exterior-united-w640.webp) The federal courthouse in Baltimore. Archival court photograph, not a photograph of the defendant or the alleged transactions. Photo: United States District Court for the District of Maryland Federal prosecutors in Maryland have charged [Sharieff Tate Pierre](https://giftcard.news/person/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](https://giftcard.news/organization/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\. [\[S01\]](#article-source-1) 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](https://giftcard.news/company/western-union/). Those statements are allegations in a pending criminal case; Pierre is presumed innocent unless proved guilty. [\[S01\]](#article-source-1) ## 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. [\[S01\]](#article-source-1) The case places gift cards in an alleged conversion chain involving someone else’s credit account. It does not identify a breach of a Your free reader account ## Continue reading for free. Create your account or sign in to get unlimited access. Continue with LinkedIn Continue with Google Continue with Facebook No payment required. Newsletter signup is optional. [Already registered? Sign in](https://giftcard.news/login/?returnTo=%2Ffraud-security%2Fmaryland-indictment-stolen-credit-cards-gift-card-purchases%2F) ## In this article ### Companies * [Western Union](https://giftcard.news/company/western-union/) ### People * [Sharieff Tate Pierre](https://giftcard.news/person/sharieff-tate-pierre/) ### Organizations * [Baltimore County Police Department](https://giftcard.news/organization/baltimore-county-police-department/) * [U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland](https://giftcard.news/organization/u-s-attorney-s-office-for-the-district-of-maryland/) * [U.S. Postal Inspection Service](https://giftcard.news/organization/u-s-postal-inspection-service/) * [U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General](https://giftcard.news/organization/u-s-postal-service-office-of-inspector-general/) ### Sources and documents * [\[S01\] October 7 indictment announcement and allegations](https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/maryland-man-facing-federal-indictment-connection-gift-card-scam?utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news) — U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland Share [ ](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Ffraud-security%2Fmaryland-indictment-stolen-credit-cards-gift-card-purchases%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dx%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&text=Maryland+indictment+alleges+stolen+credit+cards+funded+gift-card+purchases&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "X") [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Ffraud-security%2Fmaryland-indictment-stolen-credit-cards-gift-card-purchases%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dlinkedin%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "LinkedIn") [ ](https://wa.me/?text=Maryland+indictment+alleges+stolen+credit+cards+funded+gift-card+purchases+https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Ffraud-security%2Fmaryland-indictment-stolen-credit-cards-gift-card-purchases%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dwhatsapp%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "WhatsApp") ![Portrait of Daniel Brooks](https://giftcard.news/images/variants/v1/daniel-brooks-editorial-portrait-w320.webp) About the author ## [Daniel Brooks](https://giftcard.news/author/daniel-brooks/) Journalist — Payments, Security & PCI DSS Daniel Brooks covers payment networks, financial technology, payment security, gift card fraud and PCI DSS for Gift Card News. From reading to building ## Your next move in gift cards. Tell us what you’re building. We’ll help you explore suitable providers. [Find a provider ](https://giftcard.news/find-a-provider/) ## Related articles [Fraud & Security](https://giftcard.news/fraud-security/) News ### [giftee Group estimates JPY 550 million loss after unauthorized e-gift issuance](https://giftcard.news/fraud-security/giftee-unauthorized-egift-issuance-estimated-loss-2026/) [Daniel Brooks](https://giftcard.news/author/daniel-brooks/) October 26, 2026 3 min [Fraud & Security](https://giftcard.news/fraud-security/) News ### [San Francisco settlement creates $1.525 million Vanilla gift-card fund](https://giftcard.news/fraud-security/san-francisco-vanilla-gift-card-restitution-fund/) [Daniel Brooks](https://giftcard.news/author/daniel-brooks/) October 23, 2026 4 min [Fraud & Security](https://giftcard.news/fraud-security/) News ### [Valuedesign reports card-data leak as MOS resets PINs](https://giftcard.news/fraud-security/valuedesign-value-card-data-leak-mos-card-2026/) [Daniel Brooks](https://giftcard.news/author/daniel-brooks/) October 23, 2026 4 min ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://giftcard.news/#publisher","name":"Gift Card News","url":"https://giftcard.news/","description":"News and analysis covering gift cards, retail, loyalty, rewards and payments worldwide.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://giftcard.news/icon-512.png","contentUrl":"https://giftcard.news/icon-512.png","width":512,"height":512,"@id":"https://giftcard.news/#logo"},"publishingPrinciples":"https://giftcard.news/editorial-policy/","correctionsPolicy":"https://giftcard.news/editorial-policy/"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://giftcard.news/#website","url":"https://giftcard.news/","name":"Gift Card News","description":"News and analysis covering gift cards, retail, loyalty, rewards and payments worldwide.","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@id":"https://giftcard.news/#publisher"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://giftcard.news/search/?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https://giftcard.news/author/daniel-brooks/#person","name":"Daniel Brooks","url":"https://giftcard.news/author/daniel-brooks/","description":"Daniel Brooks covers payment networks, financial technology, payment security, gift card fraud and PCI DSS for Gift Card News.","jobTitle":"Journalist — Payments, Security & PCI DSS","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://giftcard.news/images/daniel-brooks-editorial-portrait.webp","contentUrl":"https://giftcard.news/images/daniel-brooks-editorial-portrait.webp","width":1254,"height":1254,"caption":"Illustrated portrait representing the Daniel Brooks editorial profile.","@id":"https://giftcard.news/images/daniel-brooks-editorial-portrait.webp#image","encodingFormat":"image/webp","description":"Illustrated portrait for Daniel Brooks, a Gift Card News editorial pen name","creditText":"Gift Card News / AI-generated illustration"}},{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://giftcard.news/images/maryland-indictment-alleges-stolen-credit-cards-funded-gift-card-purchases-exterior-united.webp","contentUrl":"https://giftcard.news/images/maryland-indictment-alleges-stolen-credit-cards-funded-gift-card-purchases-exterior-united.webp","width":640,"height":260,"caption":"The federal courthouse in Baltimore. Archival court photograph, not a photograph of the defendant or the alleged transactions.","@id":"https://giftcard.news/images/maryland-indictment-alleges-stolen-credit-cards-funded-gift-card-purchases-exterior-united.webp#image","encodingFormat":"image/webp","description":"Exterior of the United States District Court building in Baltimore with an outdoor sculpture","creditText":"United States District Court for the District of Maryland","isBasedOn":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_District_Court_Maryland_Northern_Division_Baltimore.jpg"},{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://giftcard.news/fraud-security/maryland-indictment-stolen-credit-cards-gift-card-purchases/#article","url":"https://giftcard.news/fraud-security/maryland-indictment-stolen-credit-cards-gift-card-purchases/","headline":"Maryland indictment alleges stolen credit cards funded gift-card purchases","description":"Federal prosecutors charged a Maryland man with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, alleging a gift-card scheme caused $53,300.49 in losses to 21 people.","datePublished":"2026-10-07T00:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-11T14:37:22.566Z","inLanguage":"en","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https://giftcard.news/fraud-security/maryland-indictment-stolen-credit-cards-gift-card-purchases/#webpage"},"isPartOf":{"@id":"https://giftcard.news/#website"},"isAccessibleForFree":false,"hasPart":[{"@type":"WebPageElement","isAccessibleForFree":false,"cssSelector":".reader-restricted"}],"image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://giftcard.news/images/maryland-indictment-alleges-stolen-credit-cards-funded-gift-card-purchases-exterior-united.webp","contentUrl":"https://giftcard.news/images/maryland-indictment-alleges-stolen-credit-cards-funded-gift-card-purchases-exterior-united.webp","width":640,"height":260,"caption":"The federal courthouse in Baltimore. Archival court photograph, not a photograph of the defendant or the alleged transactions.","@id":"https://giftcard.news/images/maryland-indictment-alleges-stolen-credit-cards-funded-gift-card-purchases-exterior-united.webp#image","encodingFormat":"image/webp","description":"Exterior of the United States District Court building in Baltimore with an outdoor sculpture","creditText":"United States District Court for the District of Maryland","isBasedOn":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_District_Court_Maryland_Northern_Division_Baltimore.jpg"}],"articleSection":"Fraud & Security","keywords":["Baltimore County Police Department","Sharieff Tate Pierre","U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland","U.S. Postal Inspection Service","U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General","Western Union"],"mentions":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://giftcard.news/organization/baltimore-county-police-department/#entity","name":"Baltimore County Police Department","url":"https://giftcard.news/organization/baltimore-county-police-department/"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https://giftcard.news/person/sharieff-tate-pierre/#entity","name":"Sharieff Tate Pierre","url":"https://giftcard.news/person/sharieff-tate-pierre/"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://giftcard.news/organization/u-s-attorney-s-office-for-the-district-of-maryland/#entity","name":"U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland","url":"https://giftcard.news/organization/u-s-attorney-s-office-for-the-district-of-maryland/"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://giftcard.news/organization/u-s-postal-inspection-service/#entity","name":"U.S. Postal Inspection Service","url":"https://giftcard.news/organization/u-s-postal-inspection-service/"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://giftcard.news/organization/u-s-postal-service-office-of-inspector-general/#entity","name":"U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General","url":"https://giftcard.news/organization/u-s-postal-service-office-of-inspector-general/"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://giftcard.news/company/western-union/#entity","name":"Western Union","url":"https://giftcard.news/company/western-union/"}],"wordCount":406,"citation":[{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"[S01] October 7 indictment announcement and allegations","url":"https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/maryland-man-facing-federal-indictment-connection-gift-card-scam","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland"}}],"author":[{"@id":"https://giftcard.news/author/daniel-brooks/#person"}],"publisher":{"@id":"https://giftcard.news/#publisher"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://giftcard.news/fraud-security/maryland-indictment-stolen-credit-cards-gift-card-purchases/#webpage","url":"https://giftcard.news/fraud-security/maryland-indictment-stolen-credit-cards-gift-card-purchases/","name":"Maryland indictment alleges stolen credit cards funded gift-card purchases","description":"Federal prosecutors charged a Maryland man with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, alleging a gift-card scheme caused $53,300.49 in losses to 21 people.","datePublished":"2026-10-07T00:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-11T14:37:22.566Z","inLanguage":"en","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://giftcard.news/#website"},"mainEntity":{"@id":"https://giftcard.news/fraud-security/maryland-indictment-stolen-credit-cards-gift-card-purchases/#article"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://giftcard.news/fraud-security/maryland-indictment-stolen-credit-cards-gift-card-purchases/#breadcrumbs"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://giftcard.news/images/maryland-indictment-alleges-stolen-credit-cards-funded-gift-card-purchases-exterior-united.webp#image"}},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://giftcard.news/fraud-security/maryland-indictment-stolen-credit-cards-gift-card-purchases/#breadcrumbs","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://giftcard.news/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Fraud & Security","item":"https://giftcard.news/fraud-security/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Maryland indictment alleges stolen credit cards funded gift-card purchases","item":"https://giftcard.news/fraud-security/maryland-indictment-stolen-credit-cards-gift-card-purchases/"}]}]} ```