Evansville Women Sentenced on Charges of Obtaining, Possessing, and Using Unauthorized Prepaid Credit Cards

OWENSBORO, KY—United States Attorney Candace Hill announced that on March 19, 2010, Charice D. Curtis, age 36, of Evansville, Indiana, was sentenced to one year and three months’ incarceration with credit for time served, followed by two years of supervised release, and Kathina Reynolds, age 37, was sentenced to one year and a day, and must serve two years of supervised release. Both were ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $90,947.

The two had pleaded guilty to charges of knowingly, and with the intent to defraud, using an unauthorized access device, that is, a credit card, to obtain things with an aggregate value of $1,000, which conduct affected interstate commerce. Each woman also pleaded guilty to charges of possessing more than 15 unauthorized access devices.

The indictment alleged that Curtis obtained a corporate credit card in the name of OMNI Home Care Corporation, issued by Kroger grocery stores in Kentucky, without the approval or authority of OMNI. Curtis and her co-defendant, Reynolds, were also charged with knowingly, and with intent to defraud, possessing and attempting to possess 15 or more unauthorized access devices, that is, approximately 2,400 gift cards with a total value of $265,000.

Specifically, between May 6, 2008, and June 20, 2008, Curtis and Reynolds incurred unauthorized charges of approximately $304,319.61 to purchase gift cards at three different Kroger grocery stores in Owensboro, Kentucky. On June 23, 2008, Curtis requested an additional $265,000 prepaid gift cards in addition to the approximately $304,000 already purchased. She arranged to pick up the gift cards on June 25, 2008. When Curtis and Reynolds arrived at Kroger, they were detained by the Owensboro Police Department. Both Curtis and Reynolds consented to a search of their residences. Police found approximately $175,000 in gift cards at Curtis’ residence. Police recovered over $40,000 in gift cards from Reynolds residence.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Marisa J. Ford and Lettricea Jefferson-Webb, and it was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Owensboro Police Department.