Florida law makes it a crime for a person to use another person’s credit card without the cardholder’s consent.
If a card is used two times or less over a six-month period and the total value of purchases is less than $100, the crime is a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum of 1 year in jail.
If the card is used more than two times and the value of purchases is more than $100, the crime is a third-degree felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison.
Penalties range from Pretrial Intervention to jail/prison time, depending on the victim(s)’ position. Restitution is almost always a condition of any plea, whether it is paid directly to the victim(s) or to the credit card company.
Eric Matheny is a Miami criminal attorney and Broward criminal lawyer assisting client’s with credit card fraud cases in Miami-Dade County and Broward County.