How much trouble is my sister going to get in for paying for surgery with my credit card?

[torame920]

What is the name of your state? CA

My sister stole my credit card and used it to pay for eye surgery for her son that wasn't covered by her insurance. The amount is just under $8k. I'm going to report it, but before I do I would like to have an idea of what sort of consequences there will be so I can be prepared ahead of time. She will not be able to pay the money back or get a line of credit to pay the money back. So would she be go to jail? and if so for approximately how long?

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state? CA

My sister stole my credit card and used it to pay for eye surgery for her son that wasn't covered by her insurance. The amount is just under $8k. I'm going to report it, but before I do I would like to have an idea of what sort of consequences there will be so I can be prepared ahead of time. She will not be able to pay the money back or get a line of credit to pay the money back. So would she be go to jail? and if so for approximately how long?

Yes. Your sister could go to jail. Up to 3 years is possible for grand theft over $950.

 

[torame920]

Ah, okay.

 

[quincy]

Ah, okay.

I hope someone is available to take care of her son.

 

[torame920]

I hope someone is available to take care of her son.

Not really. That's why I wanted to know how long. If it was only a couple months it would have been doable for me. I guess we'll see what happens.

 

[adjusterjack]

My sister stole my credit card

How did she get access to your credit card?

Might be constructive permission if you did not keep control of it.

BTW, if it were my sister I would pay it and cancel the card and then keep tighter control over it.

 

[torame920]

How did she get access to your credit card?

Might be constructive permission if you did not keep control of it.

BTW, if it were my sister I would pay it and cancel the card and then keep tighter control over it.

All I can think is she must have gotten into my wallet sometime when they were over.

I don't have any intention of paying for it if I don't have to.

 

[bcr229]

All I can think is she must have gotten into my wallet sometime when they were over.

I don't have any intention of paying for it if I don't have to.

Was the card physically stolen or did your sister just note the card number, expiration date, and CVV? If the latter and she paid through the doctor's online portal you'll have a better chance of winning a dispute versus a card present transaction.

If you do successfully dispute the charge the eye doctor will go after your sister for payment but that's not your problem.

 

[quincy]

Because the unauthorized use of your credit card can result in criminal prosecution against your sister - and the possibility of jail that could keep her away from her son for an extended period of time - you might want to discuss with your sister a payment arrangement instead of a police report. Perhaps your sister can cover a little more than the minimum monthly payment amount due on the card?

It sounds to me like your sister was desperate to provide necessary surgery for her son. How old is her son? Had she previously asked you for help in paying for what her insurance wouldn’t cover?

 

[torame920]

Was the card physically stolen or did your sister just note the card number, expiration date, and CVV? If the latter and she paid through the doctor's online portal you'll have a better chance of winning a dispute versus a card present transaction.

If you do successfully dispute the charge the eye doctor will go after your sister for payment but that's not your problem.

She must've just copied the number.

 

[torame920]

Because the unauthorized use of your credit card can result in criminal prosecution against your sister - and the possibility of jail that could keep her away from her son for an extended period of time - you might want to discuss with your sister a payment arrangement instead of a police report. Perhaps your sister can cover a little more than the minimum monthly payment amount due on the card?

It sounds to me like your sister was desperate to provide necessary surgery for her son. How old is her son? Had she previously asked you for help in paying for what her insurance wouldn’t cover?

She never asked me for money, but she had talked about her son's eye problems. So I do get her reasoning, but after a lot of reflection on everything I'm just not willing to go there.

 

[quincy]

She must've just copied the number.

Based on what you have said, there does not appear to be a doubt that your sister illegally used your credit card. She can be reported to the police and prosecuted, and she can be sued, or you could make an arrangement with her to pay you back.

The decision on what to do about the unauthorized charge is really up to you. You can consult with an attorney in your area to discuss your options in more depth.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Bear in mind that if she has no prior criminal record there's a distinct possibility that she'll get little or no jail/prison time for this. She may end up on probation with a suspended sentence, perhaps a fine, and a restitution order to pay you back. The last part is particularly important to you as that is your leverage to get her to do whatever she can to pay you back. The idea behind this kind of outcome is that if she violates the probation order or doesn't do something to pay you back, even if it's just monthly payments, the probation can be revoked and she'd be subject to serving the suspended jail. If she's prosecuted make sure you tell the prosecutor that you want the restitution in addition to whatever penalty is imposed for the theft; sometimes a prosecutor may forget to put that in the judgment. There is no guarantee what will happen though. Each prosecutor's office does things a bit differently. But if she is prosecuted, pleads guilty, and there is a restitution that will save you some effort in collecting the money she owes you. Also, criminal restitution orders aren't dischargable in bankruptcy.

 

[commentator]

Wait, please. Okay, I'm old, I've had LOTS of surgery. With and without medical coverage. What kind of surgery, what kind of bill? All in one whop, to one single service provider, or as is the usual case, in and out and with a whole lot of incremental bills which might eventually total up to $8000? So did she have lasix for him, a cataract surgery for him, "not covered by their insurance?" Hm. So they have health care insurance, but this was not an approved surgery? What age is this child? So she had to come up with the money on the barrelhead before he had the surgery? Are you sure she didn't ask you? When did you find out this had happened? What did she say when you confronted her? Have you given her an opportunity to make it right? This sounds like something you might be able to work out without having to press charges against her and get the law involved. There are charitable organizations and clubs that specifically help with eye issues. My son raised enough money for his cat to have surgery through a simple "go fund me." I'm not sure you're ready to throw her under the jail yet here.

 

[zddoodah]

My sister stole my credit card and used it to pay for eye surgery for her son that wasn't covered by her insurance.

How long ago was the charge made? If it was recent (e.g., within the last 60 days), you should be able to dispute the charge with your credit card issuer. If it was longer ago than that, did you dispute the charge? If so, what is the status of your credit card issuer's investigation? If not, why not?

So would she be go to jail? and if so for approximately how long?

Both fines and imprisonment are possible. Given the amount, over a year is possible (albeit probably not likely for a non-violent crime - especially if she has no prior criminal record).