EX-MLB pitcher faces prison in stolen credit card caper
CLEVELAND — Charles Smith, a former starting pitcher for the then-florida Marlins and one-time mayor of Woodmere, a small Cleveland suburb, pleaded guilty to federal charges accusing him of using account information from hundreds of stolen credit card accounts to buy gas while he delivered packages for Amazon, federal prosecutors said.
The 52-year-old faces a mandatory minimum of two years in prison after he pleaded guilty to one count each of aggravated identity theft and access device fraud.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Boyko will sentence Smith on Aug. 25.
Federal prosecutors charged Smith on April 21 via an information, a sign that a defendant is prepared to plead guilty instead of going through the grand jury for indictment.
Smith went on the dark web, a portion of the internet that requires special servers to access and allows users to remain completely anonymous, and bought account numbers and addresses of hundreds of stolen credit or debit cards from May 2019 through May 2020, prosecutors say.
Prosecutors say Smith used a machine to encode the account information onto blank credit cards.
Smith charged more than $10,000 to cards with the pilfered information at gas stations across Northeast Ohio as he delivered packages for Amazon, prosecutors said. Victims of the theft were spread across 25 states.
Prosecutors said an investigation revealed Smith had bought account information for more than 600 stolen credit and debit cards.
Smith, who filed for personal bankruptcy in 2009, returned to politics in 2019 and won a seat on Woodmere Village Council. Smith resigned in March 2020 after less than three months in office, citing health reasons.
Smith, whom the Houston Astros signed as an undrafted free agent in 1991, toiled in the minor leagues for nine seasons before making his Major League debut in 2000. Smith pitched in two seasons, going 11–11 with a 3.84 ERA in 34 games.
He struck out 189 batters in 210 innings and gave up 16 home runs, including one of San Francisco Giants’ slugger Barry Bonds’ record-breaking 73 home runs during the 2001 season.