UPDATED: Travel Softball Coach Charged With Credit Card Fraud

A coach with a travel softball team, identified by authorities as being based out of South Brunswick, was charged Thursday for using a stolen credit card to pay for travel expenses to a tournament in Florida. 

Andre Harris, 28, of North Brunswick, allegedly spent over $10,000 this summer on hotel rooms and payments to T-Mobile and Cablevision using a stolen Discover card, according to the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office.

Harris is the coach and manager of the New Jersey Thunder girls’ softball team, which is privately-owned and operated in South Brunswick, according to the prosecutor's office, and has multiple teams of girls ranging from 13 to 23-years-old.

On Sept. 2, Somerset County authorities were contacted by a California resident who reported suspicious charges on her credit card for a block of rooms in Orlando, Fla., at the Swan and Dolphin Hotel in Walt Disney World. 

Authorities were provided with information from the Sheraton Hotel that Harris was responsible for booking the rooms using the stolen Discover card. During the time frame of July 1 to Aug. 1, the New Jersey Thunder teams were participating in a softball tournament in Orlando.

Detectives learned Harris, while residing in Franklin Park, reserved the rooms by phone with the Sheraton Hotel using the stolen card to book reservations. 

Harris was charged with fraudulent use of a credit card, one count of theft by deception and one count of credit card theft. Harris turned himself into the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday and was released on his own recognizance.

Director of Softball in South Brunswick Lee Brancaccio said Harris has no involvement with softball in town. 

"There may be a couple girls from South Brunswick who play on the team, but they are based out of Monroe and based out of the Monroe softball complex," Brancaccio said. "I don't think (the Thunder) even played in our tournament in the last four years. In the past couple years, I know one or two girls from South Brunswick who left the team for multiple reasons. (Harris) has absolutely nothing to do with South Brunswick softball."

Director of the SBAA Jim Cooney said the information from the prosecutor's office identifying the Thunder as being based out of South Brunswick is incorrect, and the Thunder have no relationship with township softball.

"(Harris) has absolutely no affilation with our town, let alone our softball program," Cooney said.

Anyone with additional information or who believes they might be a victim of credit card theft involving the N.J. Thunder Organization or Andre Harris is asked to call the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigation Unit at 908-231-7100, or the Somerset County Crime Stoppers’ Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477) or online at www.888577tips.org or www.scpo.net and click on either “Crime Stoppers” or “TIPS HOTLINE."All calls are confidential.