Photo from Ramon Korionoff, Office of the State's Attorney for Prince George's County, Maryland Brian Adams Keith of Elkridge has been indicted in connection with a credit card skimming scheme while working for T.G.I. Fridays in Laurel.

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A grand jury in Prince George’s County indicted an Elkridge man Thursday on 16 counts of identity theft, theft and conspiracy to commit theft after the man allegedly skimmed customers’ credit card information while working as a server at T.G.I. Friday’s in Laurel.

Brian Keith Adams, 21, is accused of stealing the information from 73 credit cards, including those of two U.S. Secret Service employees, through a handheld skimming device, which records the information on a card’s magnetic strip, and passing it along to other individuals to use for unauthorized purchases from December 2009 through April 2010.

Investigators first learned of the scheme after Secret Service employees who dined at the Laurel restaurant realized their credit cards were compromised.

Adams remains at large, although Ramon Korionoff, a spokesman for the Prince George’s County Office of the State’s Attorney, said police and Secret Service are “tracking” him, but declined to provide further information.

Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks (D) said the scheme was responsible for more than $42,000 in unauthorized purchases. Internet searches reveal that skimming devices can be easily obtained, either from anonymous Internet sellers, or simply by hacking a legitimate credit card reader.

“This is an important signal not only to those committing these crimes, but also to potential victims,” Alsobrooks said. “...We want residents to remain vigilant, to be careful handing over credit cards and to check your credit rating and bank statements regularly.”

Each count of identity theft carries a sentence of up to 25 years in prison, along with fines exceeding $25,000.

A spokesman for T.G.I. Friday’s, who declined to provide their name because of corporate policy, said in an email the restaurant chain cooperated with the investigation, and “have reviewed [its] credit card processes to further strengthen the control measures [it has] in place.”

ewagner@gazette.net