Credit and Credit Reports

questions & answers

Question: Can an ex husband have his ex wife charged with theft and fraud for using his credit card when he told her to do so. She signed his name as instructed by her husband at the time.

Answer: I will start by giving you brief definitions of each crime according to Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS)... Theft - ARS 13-1802...pay specific attention to 13-1802.A2 13-1802. Theft; classification; definitions A. A person commits theft if, without lawful authority, the person knowingly: 1. Controls property of another with the intent to deprive the other person of such property; or 2. Converts for an unauthorized term or use services or property of another entrusted to the defendant or placed in the defendant's possession for a limited, authorized term or use; ***** 13-2102. Theft of a credit card or obtaining a credit card by fraudulent means; classification A. A person commits theft of a credit card or obtaining a credit card by fraudulent means if the person: 1. Controls a credit card without the cardholder's or issuer's consent through conduct prescribed in section 13-1802 or 13-1804; or 2. Sells, transfers or conveys a credit card with the intent to defraud; or 3. With intent to defraud, obtains possession, care, custody or control over a credit card as security for debt. So, to try and answer your question...He could file a police report but the charging would be up to the prosecuting attorney. If the "wife" was given permission, it may not meet the requirements of the statute. There are also time limits placed on prosecution...here is the ARS statute for time limitations for prosecution... 13-107. Time limitations A. A prosecution for any homicide, any conspiracy to commit homicide that results in the death of a person, any offense that is listed in chapter 14 or 35.1 of this title and that is a class 2 felony, any violent sexual assault pursuant to section 13-1423, any violation of section 13-2308.01, any misuse of public monies or a felony involving falsification of public records or any attempt to commit an offense listed in this subsection may be commenced at any time. B. Except as otherwise provided in this section and section 28-672, prosecutions for other offenses must be commenced within the following periods after actual discovery by the state or the political subdivision having jurisdiction of the offense or discovery by the state or the political subdivision that should have occurred with the exercise of reasonable diligence, whichever first occurs: 1. For a class 2 through a class 6 felony, seven years. 2. For a misdemeanor, one year. 3. For a petty offense, six months. C. For the purposes of subsection B of this section, a prosecution is commenced when an indictment, information or complaint is filed. D. The period of limitation does not run during any time when the accused is absent from the state or has no reasonably ascertainable place of abode within the state. E. The period of limitation does not run for a serious offense as defined in section 13-706 during any time when the identity of the person who commits the offense or offenses is unknown. F. The time limitation within which a prosecution of a class 6 felony shall commence shall be determined pursuant to subsection B, paragraph 1 of this section, irrespective of whether a court enters a judgment of conviction for or a prosecuting attorney designates the offense as a misdemeanor. G. If a complaint, indictment or information filed before the period of limitation has expired is dismissed for any reason, a new prosecution may be commenced within six months after the dismissal becomes final even if the period of limitation has expired at the time of the dismissal or will expire within six months of the dismissal.