Millersville, MD —  Anne Arundel County Police announced that a suspect has been arrested for impersonating a police officer and extorting local business owners.

An investigation by detectives from the Anne Arundel County Police Homeland Security Division and Western District Detective Unit revealed that that over the past several months, Christopher A. Jefferson, of Hanover, visited area businesses owned and operated by members of the Hispanic community and solicited donations for a purported charity “TSI Trinity Syndicates Impact”, which the suspect claimed helped the Hispanic community.

During these visits, Jefferson would dress in a manner that gave him the appearance of being a member of a law enforcement.  Sometimes he wore a bullet proof vest, a body camera, and a badge.

He claimed to have worked closely with the Anne Arundel County Police and showed pictures of himself having close interactions with officers.

On one occasion, the suspect requested that community outreach officers to respond to where the suspect was conducting his activities to comfort a young man who feared police. Detectives later learned that the suspect manipulated the officer for the purposes of adding credibility to his scheme. The officer was unaware of the suspect’s intent at the time.

In exchange for donations, Jefferson promised to to perform licensing tasks on behalf of the business owner. He was able to extort tens of thousands of dollars from unsuspecting local business owners. 

Police believe there may be dozens of other victims and ask that anyone who fell victim to Jefferson’s scheme come forward. 

On August 1, 2019, detectives placed Jefferson in custody and searched his home in the 7500 block of Trafalgar Circle in Hanover, Maryland. As a result of the search warrant, detectives recovered a ballistic vest and multiple “TSI” badges.

Chief of Police Timothy Altomare said at a press conference, “We work so hard to make sure that this badge and patch bring positivity, calm to chaos, safety to violence, and service to everyone, that I’m having a hard time assimilating as I go through this thing, how a human being could do this.”

Jefferson is charged with the following:

  • 2 counts of theft: $1,500 to Under $25,000 
  • 2 counts of Fraud Id Info Thft $1500-<$25k 
  • Possessing Bulletproof Armor
  • 4 counts of impersonating a Police Officer 
  • Possessing/Use False Gov’t Id Doc
  • Fraud-Per. Ident. Avoid Pros