Follow Up: “Lord of the Rings” Credit Card Thief Gets Prison Time

Last month, we brought you the story of Richard Berry, a Michigan business owner who sold toys and collectibles. When his business started to fail, he used film director Peter Jackson's credit card information to charge $190,000 in a desperate attempt to keep his business open. Since being caught, Richard has cooperated with authorities and has already paid off over half of the bill in hopes that he will get to serve his sentence outside of prison.

Last Monday, Richard Berry received his sentence. He will serve 10 months in prison, pay restitution, and be under court supervision for 3 additional years after completing his prison sentence.

Since the first article was published, some readers have pointed out that Richard Berry committed a serious crime and that theft and credit card fraud is never acceptable. I wanted to assure our readers that we do not condone Richard Berry's actions in any way. I was sympathetic for Richard Berry's situation with his business and the difficulties of a small business owner in today's economy, but his actions were wrong, no matter his intentions might have been. I apologize if that was unclear in the original article.

To learn more about responsible credit card use and protecting yourself against credit card theft, check out http://blog.mycreditspecialist.com, and go to http://www.mycreditspecialist.com to sign up for a free credit evaluation today.