Apple Employees Alert Georgia Police After Man Allegedly Tried to Use Stolen Card at Store

Alpharetta Police were tipped off to attempted fraud after Dante Hawkins attempted to use a stolen card at the Apple Store. One of the employees called police, and officers were able to catch up to Hawkins.

After searching him, they discovered 23 different credit and debit cards with various names on them.

As a Georgia Criminal Defense Lawyer, I will outline one of the offenses allegedly committed by Hawkins in Fulton County in today's post.

Financial Transaction Card Fraud in Georgia

Financial Transaction Card Fraud in Georgia is defined by the Georgia Code in O.C.G.A. §16-9-33 as:

A person commits the offense of financial transaction card fraud when with intent to defraud the issuer; a person or organization providing money, goods, services, or anything else of value; or any other person, he:

(1) Uses for the purpose of obtaining money, goods, services, or anything else of value: (A) A financial transaction card obtained or retained or which was received with knowledge that it was obtained or retained in violation of Code Section 16-9-31 or 16-9-32; (B) A financial transaction card which he or she knows is forged, altered, expired, revoked, or was obtained as a result of a fraudulent application in violation of subsection (d) of this Code section; or (C) The financial transaction card account number of a financial transaction card which he or she knows has not in fact been issued or is forged, altered, expired, revoked, or was obtained as a result of a fraudulent application in violation of subsection (d) of this Code section;

(2) Obtains money, goods, services, or anything else of value by: (A) Representing without the consent of the cardholder that he or she is the holder of a specified card; (B) Presenting the financial transaction card without the authorization or permission of the cardholder; (C) Falsely representing that he or she is the holder of a card and such card has not in fact been issued; or (D) Giving, orally or in writing, a financial transaction card account number to the provider of the money, goods, services, or other thing of value for billing purposes without the authorization or permission of the cardholder for such use;

(3) Obtains control over a financial transaction card as security for debt;

(4) Deposits into his account or any account by means of an automated banking device a false, fictitious, forged, altered, or counterfeit check, draft, money order, or any other such document not his lawful or legal property; or

(5) Receives money, goods, services, or anything else of value as a result of a false, fictitious, forged, altered, or counterfeit check, draft, money order, or any other such document having been deposited into an account via an automated banking device, knowing at the time of receipt of the money, goods, services, or item of value that the document so deposited was false, fictitious, forged, altered, or counterfeit or that the above-deposited item was not his lawful or legal property.

The easiest way, as a Georgia Criminal Defense Attorney, for me to break down this law is through the following translation. A person commits financial transaction card fraud when a person knowingly used a debit or credit card without permission, obtains an account number that doesn't exist, or acquires a card that was lost, stolen, forged, revoked, or expired.

If convicted of financial transaction card fraud, the penalty is classified according to the amount of money spent within a six-month period. If under $100, then the crime is classified as a misdemeanor and can include up to 12 months in jail. If over $100, then the crime is classified as a felony and can include up to five years in prison.