Man accused of using stolen credit card to make hundreds of dollars in purchases in a day, police say

A Hatfield man is accused by police of racking up more than $600 in purchases in one day with a stolen card card in May 2024.

Mark William Gross, 33, of the 50^th block of Garfield Avenue, was charged July 19 with felony access device fraud, and three midemeanor counts each of identify theft, theft by unlawful taking, and receiving stolen property, according to charging documents.

Gross remains at Montgomery County jail since Aug. 29 on a probation/parole detainer, per court records. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 16 at 11 a.m. before Magisterial District Judge Edward Levine.

On May 7, 2024, at 10:30 a.m., Hatfield Police responded to an apartment on Garfield Avenue for a report of a theft. Upon arrival, police said the victim told them he received alerts about his credit cards being used, per the affidavit.

He checked his wallet and found a Capital One card, an American Express card, and a Chase card were missing, police said.

Per the report, the Capital One card was used to buy $375 in merchandise at Finish Line in the Montgomery Mall, the American Express card was used to buy $201.59 worth of merchandise at the Hilltown Township Walmart and $50 worth of items from Wawa on North Broad Street in Hatfield.

The Chase card was locked before it could be used, police said.

When contacted by phone, Gross admitted to taking the credit cards from the victim’s home and using them to purchase merchandise, police said. The reason, police said, was because he owed someone money.

Via surveillance video at Walmart, Wawa, and Finish Line, a man, identified as Gross, police allege, is shown on May 5 at 8:16 a.m. at Walmart using the American Express card. The man was wearing a dark-colored winter coat with a fur-lined hood, which was up, and covering a blue hat, police said.

The same man is captured on surveillance at Wawa on May 5 at 8:56 a.m. buying a $50 DraftKings gift card, police said, and again at May 5 at 12:29 p.m. at Finish Line, buying a blue Nike hoodie, a blue Nike baseball hat, black pants, and two pairs of sneakers.

All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.