Crime Wave in Maryland: Man Sentenced for Threats, Woman Admits $185K Theft, and State Sues Lender Over Hidden Fees

Maryland Man Sentenced to 37 Months for Mailing Threatening Letters to Jewish Institutions

PHILADELPHIA – March 16, 2026 – A Maryland man was sentenced to more than three years in federal prison today for orchestrating a year-long campaign of mailing threatening communications to Jewish institutions and organizations across the country, the Justice Department announced.

Clift Seferlis, 55, of Garrett Park, Maryland, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark A. Kearney to 37 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $40,000 fine and a $2,200 special assessment.

Seferlis had previously pleaded guilty to 17 counts of mailing threatening communications and eight counts of obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs. According to court documents, between March 2024 and June 2025, he used the U.S. mail to send at least 40 letters and two postcards to more than 25 Jewish institutions.

The targets spanned multiple jurisdictions and included synagogues, Jewish museums, community centers, schools, nonprofit organizations, and a Jewish delicatessen. Prosecutors said many of the written communications contained explicit threats to destroy physical buildings or injure individuals.

Court filings show the threats were intended to intimidate the recipients and interfere with their ability to freely exercise their religious beliefs.

“For more than a year, the defendant terrorized Jewish communities across the country, robbing his victims of their peace and security,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The defendant’s sentence should be a warning to all that religious-based terror will not be tolerated in this country.”

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, whose office prosecuted the case, emphasized the broader implications of such crimes. “Threats directed at religious institutions are attacks not just on those communities but on the freedoms guaranteed to all Americans,” he said. “Individuals who attempt to intimidate or terrorize others because of their faith will face the full force of federal law.”

Maryland Woman Pleads Guilty to Stealing More Than $185,000 from Two Employers in Check Theft Schemes

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – A Crofton woman pleaded guilty on Monday to two separate felony theft schemes, admitting she stole over 100 checks from her former employers—including a state agency—totaling more than $185,000, according to the Maryland Attorney General’s Office.

Carolyn Rae Aldridge, 56, entered the plea before Circuit Court Judge Stacy W. McCormack in Anne Arundel County. Prosecutors say Aldridge stole a combined $185,296.28 in two distinct schemes spanning from 2017 to 2021.

In the first scheme, between August 2017 and January 2021, Aldridge stole 96 checks from her then-employer, American Builders Corporation, Inc. (ABC Builders), an Anne Arundel County-based home improvement and general contracting firm. Aldridge, who worked as the office manager, used her position to take the checks and deposit them into her personal bank account, resulting in a loss of $173,004.43 for the small business.

In the second scheme, occurring between January 2020 and February 2021, Aldridge stole 13 checks from the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund (MAIF), an independent state automobile insurance provider, where she was employed as an associate in the fiscal department. All 13 checks, totaling $12,291.85, were deposited into her personal account.

Aldridge was indicted by an Anne Arundel County Grand Jury on June 27, 2025, on charges related to both schemes.

“Carolyn Rae Aldridge abused positions of trust at two separate employers to systematically steal hundreds of thousands of dollars for her own benefit,” Attorney General Anthony G. Brown said in a statement. “Thanks to the diligent work of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners, she is being held accountable for her crimes.”

Sentencing is scheduled for August 11, 2026.

Maryland AG Sues OneMain Financial, Alleging ‘Bait and Switch’ Lending Scheme That Cost Borrowers Hidden Fees

BALTIMORE – March 16, 2026 – Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown, alongside a coalition of 12 other state attorneys general, filed a lawsuit Monday against OneMain Financial, Inc., accusing the non-prime installment lender of deceiving consumers nationwide by tacking hundreds of millions of dollars in hidden fees and unwanted add-on products onto their loans.

The lawsuit, filed by the Consumer Protection Division, alleges that OneMain, which operates 26 branches in Maryland, engages in a “bait and switch” scheme. While the company advertises loans with “clear, upfront terms,” prosecutors say it routinely packs those loans with costly insurance policies and other add-on products without the borrowers’ knowledge or consent, inflating loan costs by hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

According to the complaint, OneMain rushes consumers through dense, fine-print loan documents that contain the terms and conditions of the add-ons. In some cases, the company is accused of hiding the products, misrepresenting them, or charging consumers who had explicitly rejected them. The lender also allegedly misled borrowers by encouraging them to refinance their loans, only to bury key terms and tack on additional add-on products, fees, and finance charges in the process.

“Our case claims that OneMain promised Maryland borrowers clear, upfront terms — then buried hidden fees and unwanted add-ons in the fine print to squeeze hundreds or thousands of dollars out of them,” Maryland’s Attorney General Brown said in a statement. “We’re filing this lawsuit to hold OneMain accountable and put money back in the pockets of the people they misled.”

“OneMain targets people who are already struggling financially, saddling them with hidden fees and misleading loans to trap them in even more debt,” said New York’s Attorney General James. “These predatory tactics are driving up costs for working families across New York and the country. Today I am taking action to stop OneMain’s illegal and abusive business model and get New Yorkers their money back.”

“OneMain targeted people who were already facing financial challenges and made their loans far more expensive through hidden add-ons and misleading tactics,” said Colorado’s Attorney General Weiser. “Colorado law requires transparency and honesty in lending. When companies take advantage of consumers instead of treating them fairly, we will hold them accountable.”

The lawsuit seeks to recover the amounts consumers were unlawfully charged for the add-on products and fees, as well as civil penalties for violations of state laws. The coalition is also asking the court to issue an order preventing OneMain from continuing the alleged illegal practices, requiring the company to cease any collection actions on affected loans, and mandating that it remove any negative information reported to credit agencies regarding loans that included the disputed add-ons.

Joining Maryland in the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Colorado, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.