Thread: Spousal credit card fraud by soon to be ex-wife

Soon to be ex-wife racked up over $1500 on my Merchant's Tire Credit Card in Florida by just giving the store my SSN. She gave them her address, phone number and signed her name on the receipt. Well... I am the ONLY person on this account, live in Virginia, have the only card ever issued and have never authorized anyone else to use this account!

Citifinancial cleared my name, deemed the charges fraudulent & turned the case over to Jacksonville Sheriffs Office. But here's the catch; JSO dropped the case claiming this was a civil NOT a criminal matter!
Credit Card Fraud exceeding $500 is considered a Felony in the state of Florida, but as long as you are a spouse and legally married to the victim while you defraud a financial institution, you will get away with it because the liability is joint!

I did talk to Citifinancial and they said they wouldn't proceed with a lawsuit against her as it will cost them more than what is owed. In other words. they will take the hit (for now) and us credit card holders will pay it off eventually in the form of increased interest rates... Doesn't seem very fair now does it?

To all Financial Institutions; Why not sue these criminals for the simple reason of setting an example for others who may follow in their footsteps? The message currently being sent out says it's okay to commit fraud...

Wait a minute. If you are in the middle of a divorce then you ARE in a lawsuit with your ex-wife. This is properly settled as part of THAT lawsuit. It is also not fraud if she ever was an authorized user. Depending on FL law, she might be on the account even if not specifically listed. She might be entitled to spend on the card during the divorce proceedings.

Basically, this is NOT fraud that would be prosecuted criminally and is unlikely to be civil fraud either. You just need to make a claim against it as part of divorce proceedings.

You should only carry the Hooters card. Women hate those.

Hooters credit card got me FIRED?!

I found out about the fraudulent charges AFTER a settlement agreement had been reached through mediation. She was NEVER an authorized user on this account which I got after we got separated and in another state. Also, you cannot be on an account "if not specifically listed" otherwise just about anyone could go and use someone's account and claim the account belongs to their spouse etc.

Originally Posted by Cardaw

I found out about the fraudulent charges AFTER a settlement agreement had been reached through mediation. She was NEVER an authorized user on this account which I got after we got separated and in another state. Also, you cannot be on an account "if not specifically listed" otherwise just about anyone could go and use someone's account and claim the account belongs to their spouse etc.

If what you say is true then you just have to raise it with the judge r mediator in the divorce.

Spouses, even if separated, are sometimes automatically authorized. I know nothing about FL law but in some states that is the situation.

It sounds like she owes you. But the proper time to settle it is in the divorce proceeding.

As unbelievable as all this may sound, it is all true and highly frustrating. I have however been in contact with the State Attorney's Office and they confirmed that this is in fact is a CRIMINAL matter. As far as the divorce goes, I guess we're going to court... i.e. aside from committing credit card fraud, turns out that soon-to-be-ex hasn't been very forthcoming and/or honest with the information she provided on her financial affidavit either...

And last but not least, I've checked with my lawyer, the State Attorney's Office and a couple of credit issuers, and there is no such thing as "automatic authorization"...

This is clearly fraud and should be treated as such. Not disclosing debts during the divorce proceedings would be illegal.