The use of a stolen or misplaced credit card is credit card fraud and may be prosecuted under federal identity theft and fraud statutes.  Credit card fraud committed by stolen credit card usually entails making large purchases before the credit card holder is aware that the card is missing.

In recent times, credit card fraud is detected by financial institutions by flagging suspicious transactions, placing temporary holds on accounts, contacting cardholders and adding security credentials to prevent fraud through online transactions.  Additionally, suspicious transactions and lost cards can be reported through a hotline to the financial institution.

The punishment for using someone else’s credit card is found in US Code, Title 18, Section 1029 and other statutes. If found guilty, the defendant will face prison time and restitution. There is a two year mandatory minimum for aggravated identity theft.

The range in sentencing for credit card fraud accounts for the nature of the crime, amount of financial damage and other variable factors.  This can also work in your favor when you have a New York criminal defense lawyer to organize your defense.

To set up an immediate consultation, contact us at (212) 577 6677 so that you may learn about your potential legal options.

According to the New York State Penal Law § 155.30, the improper use of an access device is considered to be unlawful when the use of any device such as a telephone calling card, credit card number, account number, or personal identification number is used with an intent to misrepresent and commit larceny.

One of the many cases prosecuted in New York City under § 155.30, unlawful use of an access device, would be credit card fraud, which involves the perpetrator pretending to be someone else through the use of a stolen credit card and use the credit on the card as his/her own. The same charges may also apply to perpetrators who did the same actions but with a stolen ATM or debit card, or a bank account number.

Such actions are also heavily prosecuted in New York federal court; the case usually falls under federal jurisdiction when the fraud is conducted online and that the crime has crossed over New York State borders.

Banks are aggressive in investigating against credit card fraud and the unlawful use of their access devices; sometimes they hound on potential cases more than government prosecutors. Particularly, for bank employees, those who are suspected of the unlawful use of the bank’s access devices are first subjected to a freeze on the suspected accounts and then an investigation by the bank’s investigative team.

If you have been investigated or arrested for unlawful use of an access device, then call our office at (212) 577-6677 to get professional legal advice.

GE Money’s CareCredit, a health care credit card and several New York health care providers in connection with CareCredit, are currently being investigated for allegedly defrauding patients with high interest rates, while giving/receiving kickbacks for signing patients up.

Hundreds of consumer complaints submitted to the Attorney’s General’s Office probed investigations on CareCredit, as well as 10 New York State providers, and several companies that manage CareCredit, Chase Health Advance, Visa Health Benefits, and Citibank Health Card.

Complaints against CareCredit alleged foul play of fast talking sales pitches and deceit. Consumers claimed that CareCredit representatives vouched 0% interest rates when in fact interest is at the painstaking rate of 25%.

Investigation on several health care providers revealed that CareCredit often pays them kickbacks in the form of rebates based on the amount they charge consumers on CareCredit. Providers and CareCredit allegedly overcharged consumers to receive higher kickbacks/interest.

Investigations are still ongoing in this case.

New York City law enforcement is really cracking down on identity theft and credit card fraud crime. Several highly publicized arrests have been made in the past two weeks in which dozens of defendants have been charged with various crimes related to identity theft and credit card fraud. Yesterday a five-member family of Pakistani immigrants residing in Queens and seven others have been indicted in Queens Supreme Court for running a massive fraudulent credit card/bust-out scheme.

A bust out scheme is a type of credit card fraud in which bad check are deposited into a credit card account in order to boost the card’s credit limit. Then, before the check bounces, which takes a few days, the card is used to make purchases in the amount exceeding the real credit limit.

In this Queens case, the Chaudhry family, including parents and their two sons, and an uncle, allegedly applied for hundreds of credit cards using bogus or fraudulent information, including stolen names and Social Security cards. When the cards were received, they were “busted” and used to purchase cell phones and electronics, mostly from P.C. Richards which then were shipped to Pakistan and sold. In all, over $100,000 has been stolen from P.C. Richards.

Additionally, according to the indictment, the Chaudhrys simply stole the money by  taking cash advances at banks or by working with crooked store owners who “ghost swiped” the cards (cards being swiped but no merchandise sold) and then gave the Chaudhrys back in cash a percentage of the amount charged, usually about 80 %.

Most defendants are charged with second- and third-degree grand larceny, first-degree falsifying business records, second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, first-degree offering a false instrument for filing, first-degree tampering with public records, petit larceny and first-degree scheme to defraud and faces up to 15 years in prison. Most are held in Rikers Island without bail.