The eight men who were either dismissed or suspended from the Rutgers football team last summer were charged in a nine-count indictment that accuses them of fraudulent use of a credit card.

The indictment, dated Dec. 5, came from a grand jury of the Middlesex County Superior Court. NJ Advance Media obtained the four-page indictment Tuesday through a Open Public Records Act request.

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Photo by Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Authorities allege the players used the dark web to snag credit card numbers and transferred funds to various Rutgers Express debit-card accounts for personal use.

While Malik Vaccaro-Dixon, Edwin Lopez, Kwabena "Kobe" Marfo, Syhiem Simmons, Christian "C.J.'' Onyechi and Naijee Jones each face multiple third-degree and fourth-degree charges, Brendan Devera, a linebacker who was dismissed from the Rutgers football team in July, had his most serious charge dropped.

In August, following a four-month investigation by the Rutgers University Police Department and the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, Devera was charged with a second-degree crime as the "organizer'' of a credit-card fraud scheme that enlisted seven other Rutgers football players and resulted in the alleged theft of $11,450 from victims.

"We're excited that the grand jury decided not to indict Mr. Devera on the most serious charge,'' Ron Ricci, DeVera's attorney, said.

All eight players are scheduled to appear at Middlesex County Superior Court on Jan. 3 before Judge Pedro Jimenez.

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Kai "K.J.'' Gray faces six third-degree charges, two fourth-degree charges and a second-degree charge.

The second-degree charge could be punishable by 5 to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $150,000.

A defensive back who was dismissed from the Rutgers football team in July, Gray is charged with promoting organized street crime in the second degree, conspiracy in the third-degree, receiving stolen property in the third-degree, theft by deception in the third-degree, attempted theft by deception in the third-degree, financial facilitation of criminal activity in the third-degree, fraudulent use of a credit card in the third-degree, credit-card theft in the fourth-degree and hindering apprehension in the fourth-degree.

"The grand jury considers the evidence before it, and makes the decision on whether or not a case should move forward to a trial stage and each player is considered individually,'' Gray's attorney, Cedric Ashley, said Tuesday evening. "The grand jury's decision is the grand jury's decision. There's nothing substantively new to the allegations that were raised when all the players were arrested. It's a case that will be dealt with in the court system in the course of time and will be resolved so he can move on with his life and career.''

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Devera faces five third-degree charges (receiving stolen property, conspiracy, theft by deception, financial facilitation of criminal activity, fraudulent use of a credit card) and two fourth-degree charges (credit card theft, hindering apprehension).

Authorities say Devera, between April 24 and May 3, transferred funds totaling $2,400 to various RU Express Accounts for personal use and then allegedly went to a Barnes and Noble and purchased a total of four Visa gift cards in the amounts of $211.09, $205.95, $411.09 and $823.80.

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Photo by Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Simmons, a linebacker who decided to transfer out of the Rutgers program after getting suspended in July, faces five third-degree charges (receiving stolen property, conspiracy, theft by deception, financial facilitation of criminal activity, fraudulent use of a credit card) and two fourth-degree charges (credit card theft, hindering apprehension).

According to a criminal complaint, a total of $2,500 in four deposits were made to Simmons' account between April 27 and May 3.

The complaint states Simmons obtained gift cards in the amount of $1,246.40 on April 29.

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Jones, a defensive back who took classes at Rutgers this fall while sitting out on suspension, faces five third-degree charges (receiving stolen property, conspiracy, theft by deception, financial facilitation of criminal activity, fraudulent use of a credit card) and two fourth-degree charges (credit card theft, hindering apprehension.

According to a the complaint, Jones "denied involvement and knowledge of the transaction made with his RU Express account made on May 3 in the amount of $750'' and he told investigators his RU card, with the log-in and password information written on the back, was lost.

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Lopez, a defensive back who transferred to a junior college after getting suspended in the summer, faces five third-degree charges (receiving stolen property, conspiracy, theft by deception, financial facilitation of criminal activity, fraudulent use of a credit card) and two fourth-degree charges (credit card theft, hindering apprehension).

According to the complaint, Lopez told investigators he provided his Rutgers ID information to Gray in April and that he "started seeing money pop up here and there'' but was unaware of the reason why.

Lopez allegedly provided Gray with $220 and $300 in Visa gift cards after receiving the funds.

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Dixon, a linebacker who took classes at Rutgers this fall while sitting out on suspension, faces five third-degree charges (receiving stolen property, conspiracy, theft by deception, financial facilitation of criminal activity, fraudulent use of a credit card) and two fourth-degree charges (credit card theft, hindering apprehension.

According to a complaint, Dixon had a total of seven fraudulent deposits made to his account from April 27 to May 3, totaling approximately $2,950.

The funds, according to the complaint, were utilized at the Barnes and Noble bookstore in New Brunswick on April 27 in the amount of $1,892.95 and on May 3 in the amount of $1,029.75.

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Marfo, a defensive back who took classes at Rutgers while sitting out on suspension, faces five third-degree charges (receiving stolen property, conspiracy, theft by deception, financial facilitation of criminal activity, fraudulent use of a credit card) and two fourth-degree charges (credit card theft, hindering apprehension.

According to the complaint, Marfo had a total of two fraudulent deposits made to his RU Express account in the amount of $500 and $800 with a credit card belonging to one victim.

The complaint states the funds were utilized to obtain gift cards in the amount of $1,255.95 on April 29.

In an interview with police on July 6, Marfo said he was "trying to help out'' DeVera, who "was pressed for money because he had parking tickets.'' He also told investigators he used the funds to purchase shoes and clothing, according to the complaint.

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Onyechi, a defensive end who took classes at Rutgers while sitting out on suspension, faces four third-degree charges (attempted theft by deception, conspiracy, financial facilitation of criminal activity, fraudulent use of a credit card) and two fourth-degree charges (credit card theft, hindering apprehension.

According to the complaint, Onyechi told RUPD investigators he provided Gray with his Rutgers ID information and inquired "on how to remove money from his RU Express account at Barnes and Noble.''

Onyechi apparently backed off, telling police he "told Gray to forget it'' after "seeing that there was not enough money on his account.''

Onyechi's attorney, Peter Hendricks, said his client "will be a viable candidate for'' pre-trial intervention (PTI), a program that allows first-time offenders of third- or fourth-degree crimes to avoid jail time.

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Dixon, Jones, Onyechi and Marfo are listed in the Rutgers University database as current students. Because they opted to remain in school while serving their suspensions, it's possible that they could rejoin the team for next season.

Rutgers football coach Chris Ash, whose Scarlet Knights are fresh off a 1-11 campaign in 2018, has repeatedly said he won't make any additional comments until their cases are resolved.

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Blessed to receive an offer from Arizona state pic.twitter.com/SCskixk2hW — Brendan Devera® (@BrendanDevera) December 10, 2018

Ricci said Devera plans to plead not guilty and hopes to resolve the case next month.

"Mr. Devera is frustrated that he was dismissed from the team when his charges were the same as the other young men that were just suspended,'' Ricci said. "He's not going to play at Rutgers (but) he is hopeful that he's going to be able to play at another school once this matter is resolved.''

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Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KSargeantNJ. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.