Man Arrested for Charging $5K to Darienite's Card

A Bridgeport man was taken into custody Wednesday on an arrest warrant stemming from thousands of dollars of unauthorized credit card purchases, according to police.

Billie Conley, Jr., 30, was charged with two counts of credit card theft, 16 counts of illegal use of a credit card, receiving goods via illegal use of a credit card, identity theft, third degree larceny, and third degree criminal attempt to commit larceny.

Darien Police arrested Conley at his residence in Bridgeport after several prior attempts to "latch onto him," according to Capt. Fred Komm.

The events behind the charges stretch back to March 15, when Conley—then a technician with Norwalk-based Jag Partners—was performing a hard drive upgrade and installing anti-virus software on a computer at a Darien residence. 

To pay for Conley's services, the resident gave him her credit card number. But on June 30, the woman contacted police to report a string of unauthorized charges on her bill, which—all told—totaled $5,364.94.

The locations of the charges included AVIS Car Rental in Fairfield, Banfield Animal Hospital, Audi of Fairfield, and AAA Appliance in Newington. Two purchases of $352 and $264 were recorded at Red Door Spa, as well, Komm said.

Conley is also alleged to have attemped $3,700 in furniture purchases, but the charges were canceled before the items could be delivered due to a red flag placed on his name. 

A second card from the same family was also used by Conley to purchase a plane ticket to Italy, police said. Conley is not believed to have used an alias for any of the purchases.

When Jag Partners was contacted, the company confirmed that it had received at least two other similar complaints about Conley from other customers.

Conley was released on $2500 bond and is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday, Sept. 6.