FORMER BALTIMORE CITY MAN CHARGED IN
CYBERCRIME THEFT SCHEME

Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran announced today the indictment by the Baltimore City Grand Jury of 35 year old Glenard Christopher Blount, formerly from the 5400 Block of Cedella Avenue, Baltimore, MD. The indictment follows an investigation by the Criminal Investigations Division of the Office of the Attorney General, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Maryland State Police.

The 42 count criminal indictment charges Blount with felony theft, conspiracy to commit theft, credit card offenses, and identity theft. The charges allege that from October 2002 through May 2003 Blount established accounts with NetFlix.com and Smartbargains.com, then fraudulently used the personal information of others, including credit cards, to place orders and make purchases from these internet based businesses.

If convicted, Blount could face up to 15 years in prison on each count of theft, conspiracy to commit theft, obtaining property with a credit card by counterfeiting, theft or misrepresentation, and unauthorized use or disclosure of a credit card number, and up to 5 years incarceration on each count of identity theft as well as fines in varying amounts. A criminal indictment is merely an accusation of wrongdoing and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.