Credit Card Abuse

An indictment must allege that the credit card was used without the named cardholder’s consent.

If a credit card abuse offense does not require that the defendant actually received the property, the indictment does not have to describe the property.  Offenses that require the defendant to have received some benefit require a description of the property and the identity of the person from whom the property was obtained.

An indictment alleging theft of a credit card is sufficient if it alleges that the defendant did “knowingly and intentionally steal the credit card”.  The indictment is not required to define theft or set out all theft elements.

Typically, credit card abuse and the alleged offender are indicted for a State Jail Felony, except the offense gets enhanced to a felony of the third degree if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the offense was committed against an elderly individual.

A credit card abuse conviction can be very costly.  Not only can you find yourself in the Texas Department of Correctional Facility, if you are convicted of credit card abuse or debit card abuse then it can also result in you having an impossible or very difficult time at finding an adequate employment opportunity.  Therefore, it is important to aggressively defend each credit card abuse case and obtain an expunction if you are eligible.  That way, future employers cannot see that you were even arrested for the offense.