Springdale Man Pleads Guilty in Counterfeit Credit Card Scheme

Baltimore, Maryland – Charles A. Adegbesan, age 26, of Springdale, Maryland pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit access device fraud.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Kathy A. Michalko of the United States Secret Service - Washington Field Office; and Chief Mark A. Magaw of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

According to his plea, on three occasions from July 11 to August 4, 2009, Adegbesan and co-conspirators were captured on surveillance cameras at Giant grocery stores in Salisbury, Maryland, and in Bear and Middletown, Delaware, using access device numbers belonging to 11 victims to make unauthorized purchases totaling $45,477.91.

On May 30, 2010, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Adegbesan’s residence and seized three debit cards and a credit card, all of which had been re-encoded with stolen access device numbers.

During the course of the conspiracy from May 2009 to May 2010, Adegbesan and his coconspirators were responsible for losses to over 50 victims totaling $125,687.61.

 Adegbesan has agreed to pay restitution of at least $125,687.61.

Adegbesan faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.  U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz scheduled his sentencing for June 11, 2015, at 10:30 a.m.

The Maryland Identity Theft Working Group has been working since 2006 to foster cooperation among local, state, federal, and institutional fraud investigators and to promote effective prosecution of identity theft schemes by both state and federal prosecutors. This case, as well as other cases brought by members of the Working Group, demonstrates the commitment of law enforcement agencies to work with financial institutions and businesses to address identity fraud, identify those who compromise personal identity information, and protect citizens from identity theft.

Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Since the inception of FFETF in November 2009, the Justice Department has filed more than 12,841 financial fraud cases against nearly 18,737 defendants including nearly 3,500 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the U.S. Secret Service and Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan E. Foreman, who is prosecuting the case.