Less than one month after being released from prison, Christopher Richardson, 26, of Framingham, Mass., was arrested in connection with a series of fraudulent credit card purchases made at the Tobacco Outlet last summer. Courtesy photo/Nashua Police Department

NASHUA – Christopher Richardson, 26, of Framingham, Mass., was taken into custody on Nov. 21 in connection with a series of fraudulent credit card purchases made at the Tobacco Outlet last summer.

The arrest came just three weeks after he was released from prison, having served time for conspiracy to commit access fraud and access device fraud.

According to the Nashua Police Department, officers responded to the Tobacco Outlet at 292 Daniel Webster Hwy. on July 30 for a customer dispute. They were informed that Richardson and another male suspect, whose identity has not been released, made a series of purchases using different credit cards over a period of 48 hours. Officers were also told that Richardson and the other suspect were using credit card numbers stored on their cell phones.

Working with the bank, detectives reportedly confirmed that the fraudulent purchases totaled $6,678.82.

Richardson has since been charged with theft by deception. The investigation regarding the second male suspect remains ongoing.

Under state law, if convicted, Richardson could face up to 15 years in prison, up to five years of probation and a fine of up to $4,000.

He was held without bail and was scheduled to be arraigned in Nashua District Court on Nov. 22.