Orange County Credit Card Fraud Defense Attorneys

Please note that the Law Office of Michael Guisti is a Criminal Defense Firm and we do not represent Victims of Fraud. We represent those who have been arrested for or charged with a Fraud Crime.

Facing Charges of Credit Card Fraud?

Credit card fraud is tracked down by law enforcement and prosecuted aggressively by special fraud units in the District Attorney's office. Credit card companies also have their own fraud divisions that work closely with law enforcement. This is a crime that could ruin your reputation and send you to jail or even prison, as well as affect you being approved for future credit, employment, and housing. For this reason, if you have been arrested for credit card fraud, you need to call Law Office of Michael L. Guisti at (714) 530-9690 now.

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What Is Credit Card Fraud?

Credit card fraud makes it illegal for you to willfully and knowingly forge, alter, steal, counterfeit, and/or publish information about credit cards. It is important to understand that credit card fraud is charged as either petty theft or grand theft, but you could also face forgery and identity theft charges.

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Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card in OC

Simply put, if you knowingly use a stolen, altered, counterfeited, forged, expired, or revoked credit card, you could be charged with theft. Similarly, if you use your own credit card, but know it is either about to be closed or there is no money in the account, you can be criminally charge. It is one thing to inadvertently use your credit card when you think you have money in the account; however, it becomes a crime when you knowingly use or "run up" a card that you know has no money and isn't in good standing.

There have been several situations where people have faced felony grand theft charges for some form of credit card fraud, which is why you need a professional defense attorney. Amazingly, there have been people brought up on charges simply because they attempted to use a credit card when they had forgotten it was expired. If you find yourself in this situation, retain a OC criminal defense lawyer to straighten everything out.

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Retailer Credit Card Fraud

It is not just customers who can be charged with credit card fraud—stores and business owners face credit card fraud charges when they use a credit card they know is stolen, counterfeit, forged, or expired. There have been cases where a business runs several credit cards they know to be stolen in order to collect the money. Depending on the circumstances, either the employee who approved the transaction and/or the business owner could be charged with credit card theft.

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How We Can Help Defend Your Future

The most common defense is that you never had any fraudulent intent. Even if you came into contact with a credit card that was not yours, you cannot be criminally charged as long as you never had fraudulent intent. In domestic violence situations, it is common for one person to accuse the other of using their credit cards without their permission. If you have a shared credit card account or it was explicitly agreed upon that you can use your significant other's credit card, then you cannot be found guilty.

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Call For the Best Defense in Orange County

This is a serious crime, but rest assured that we have more than a decade of successful experience reducing or dismissing credit card theft charges, which is why you need to call us now. Please call our OC white collar lawyers at (714) 530-9690 now so we can help get your life back to normal, protect your reputation, and put all of this behind you.

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Additional Information

• Buyer Beware – You May be Committing Credit Card Fraud