Abuse of Credit and Debit Cards

Denton County Criminal Defense Lawyers

Like forgery and other theft and property offenses, credit and debit card crimes are considered "crimes of moral turpitude." In other words, if you are convicted, you will be viewed as a dishonest person by prospective employers, law enforcement officers, and others who can access your criminal record. As a result, a conviction of a credit or debit card crime can prevent you from doing a lot of things for the rest of your life.

At the Law Offices of Tim Powers, we provide aggressive defense representation in many different types of criminal cases, including credit and debit card fraud. As former prosecutors with years of experience in Denton County, Texas, we pride ourselves on offering a unique perspective on how the other side will approach credit and debit card charges against you. Knowing how the other side prosecutes these cases can help us create a stronger defense.

Debit and Credit Card Abuse in Texas

Under Texas Penal Code Section 32.31, when you swipe someone else's credit or debit card one time or steal the account numbers from another person, you are committing a state jail felony, punishable by significant fines and the possibility of jail time. Receiving goods or services purchased with a stolen credit or debit card is also a punishable offense.

There a number of credit or debit card offenses you may be charged with in Texas:

• Credit or debit card abuse, which is using someone else's card without permission.
• Corporate credit card abuse, which is using a company credit card above and beyond the uses for which you are permitted.
• Credit card transaction record laundering, which is presenting a fraudulent credit card transaction record of a sale.
• Making false statements to obtain property or credit, such lying on your application for a credit card or lying to the bank.

Other criminal offenses that are listed under the same section of the Texas Penal Code as credit and debit card fraud include:

• Hindering secured creditors, which is the rarely charged crime of taking a car out of state when there is a secured note against it.
• Fraudulent transfer of a motor vehicle.

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A conviction on credit or debit card fraud charges can have a major impact on the rest of your life. If you are not a U.S. citizen, you can be deported.