Credit card theft arrest

Aug 31, 2023

A Reading man faces theft charges after police said he was caught on camera trying to withdraw hundreds of dollars with a credit card whose owner had lost it while at a West Reading restaurant.

Keith M. Fry, 55, of the 1300 block of Kenny Street remained free to await a hearing following arraignment Thursday night before District Judge Kim L. Bagenstose in Reading Central Court.

West Reading police charged Fry with unauthorized use of a credit card, receiving stolen property and theft of lost or mislaid property.

According to investigators:

The victim received a text message from Visions Federal Credit Union asking him to verify that he was trying to make a $500 withdrawal. He answered that he was not, and the transaction was denied.

He called the credit union and was told the attempt was at the Santander ATM in the 500 block of Penn Avenue in West Reading. He called West Reading police and told them he had lost his wallet and the last place he remembered having it was at restaurant in the 400 block of Penn while having breakfast about 10 days earlier.

The officer contacted Santander’s fraud department and obtained still images of the suspect, later identified as Fry, making three attempts using two credit cards belonging to the victim between 1:21 and 1:24 a.m., and between 1:20 and 1:34 a.m. on Aug. 19.

On Aug. 24, the officer took the images to the restaurant where the victim believed he had lost his wallet. A restaurant employee recognized the suspect as a man who worked in the kitchen.

Fry was taken into custody and taken to the police station for an interview. He admitted using a credit card he said he found on the ground outside of his workplace to try to withdraw money from the ATM.

Sign up for email newsletters