Penal Code § 484g PC – Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card

California Penal Code § 484g PC makes it a crime to use a credit or debit card to obtain goods, services or money when you know the card to be fake, forged, expired, invalid, or belonging to someone else. This offense can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony and carries a penalty of up to 3 years in jail.

PC 484g credit card fraud is prosecuted as grand theft if the stolen items exceed $950.

Examples

• Tim steals a credit card, represents himself as the owner, and tries to purchase some clothes with it.
• Roberto takes his girlfriend’s expired debit card and transfers funds to his own account.
• April takes the credit card information from her roommate and uses it to make online purchases from Amazon.

The full text of the code section states that:

484g. Every person who, with the intent to defraud, (a) uses, for the purpose of obtaining money, goods, services, or anything else of value, an access card or access card account information that has been altered, obtained, or retained in violation of Section 484e or 484f, or an access card which he or she knows is forged, expired, or revoked, or (b) obtains money, goods, services, or anything else of value by representing without the consent of the cardholder that he or she is the holder of an access card and the card has not in fact been issued, is guilty of theft. If the value of all money, goods, services, and other things of value obtained in violation of this section exceeds nine hundred fifty dollars ($950) in any consecutive six-month period, then the same shall constitute grand theft.

“Fraud” occurs when you try to gain an undeserved benefit through deceit.

Defenses

Luckily, there are several legal defenses to credit card fraud that we find very effective when pursuing a charge reduction or dismissal. These include showing that you:

1. You never intended to defraud anyone,
2. The cardholder consented to you using the credit card, and/or
3. The only reason you violated the law was because you were under duress.

Penalties

Our California criminal defense attorneys will highlight the following in this article:

• 1. What is the definition of credit or debit card fraud?
• 2. How can I fight a 484g PC charge?
  • 2.1. You had no intent to defraud
  • 2.2. You had the consent of the cardholder
  • 2.3. You were under duress
• 3. What is the potential sentence?
• 4. What are related credit card fraud crimes?

1. What is the definition of credit or debit card fraud?

Penal Code 484g PC is the California statute that makes it a crime to fraudulently use another person’s credit or debit card.

The code section says that you commit a crime when you knowingly use a:

• stolen,
• altered,
• counterfeit,
• forged,
• expired or
• revoked

credit or debit card (or credit or debit card information) to obtain money, goods, services or anything else of value.¹

Note that you do not have to have physical possession of the credit card plate to be guilty of violating PC 484g. It is enough that you use the card’s account number, access code, pin, etc. to fraudulently obtain something of value.

1.1. Elements of the crime

For you to be convicted of violating PC 484g, prosecutors must show beyond a reasonable doubt that:

1. You used altered or forged access card or account information;
2. You knew they were forged or altered;
3. You acted without permission of the owner;
4. You intended to obtain anything of value; and
5. You had the intent to defraud.

To “defraud” or to do something “fraudulently” means to try and gain an undeserved benefit by using trickery or deceit.²

2. How can I fight a 484g PC charge?

Here at Shouse Law Group, we have represented literally thousands of people charged with fraud crimes, including credit card fraud. In our experience, the following three defenses are very persuasive with prosecutors, judges, and juries:

1. You never intended to defraud anyone,
2. The cardholder consented to you using the credit card, and/or
3. The only reason you violated the law was because you were under duress.

2.1. You never intended to defraud anyone

You can only be guilty of fraudulently using a credit or debit card if you do so with an intent to defraud. This means that it is always a legal defense to show that you did not have this requisite intent; for example, perhaps you used the credit card by complete accident.

Criminal intent is actually very difficult for prosecutors to prove because they can never get inside of your head. As long as we can raise a reasonable doubt, the charge should be dropped.

2.2. The cardholder consented to you using the credit card

You are guilty of violating PC 484g only if you act without the cardholder’s consent. Therefore, a solid legal defense is to show that a credit card owner agreed to your suspicious actions or purchases.

Typical evidence to show cardholder consent that we rely on includes recorded communications between you two (such as texts, emails, and voicemails) and eyewitness accounts of your conversation.

2.3. The only reason you violated the law was because you were under duress

Duress is a legal defense in which you basically say: “He made me do it.” The defense applies to the very limited situation in which you commit a crime (here, fraudulently using a credit card) because somebody threatened to kill you if the crime was not committed.

The best way to show duress is through video surveillance footage, eyewitness accounts, and communications (such as text messages) by the person who placed you under duress. Plus if you have a clean criminal record otherwise, that could help us show prosecutors that breaking the law is out of character for you and that you would not have used the credit card but for the duress.

A violation of this law can result in a fine and/or jail time

3. What is the potential sentence?

Credit card theft is treated as petty theft (Penal Code 484) if the amount stolen is valued up to $950.³ Otherwise, you face charges for grand theft (Penal Code 487).⁴

Petty theft is a misdemeanor under California law.⁵ The crime is punishable by:

• imprisonment in the county jail for up to six months, and/or
• a maximum fine of $1,000.⁶

Grand theft is a wobbler offense under California law, meaning that it can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony.

If charged as a misdemeanor, the crime is punishable by:

• imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year, and/or
• a maximum fine of $1,000.⁷

If charged as a felony, the offense is punishable by:

• imprisonment in the county jail for up to three years, and/or
• a maximum fine of $10,000.⁸

In some cases we can reach out to the prosecutors after the arrest but before they file charges in attempt to persuade them to bring misdemeanor rather than felony charges.

4. What are related credit card fraud crimes?

• Shoplifting (PC 459.5) – entering a commercial establishment during business hours with the intent to steal merchandise valued at $950 or less.
• Forgery (PC 470) – falsifying a signature or seal or counterfeiting documents with fraudulent intent
• Petty larceny (PC 484) – stealing up to $950 worth of goods or services
• Stealing a credit card (PC 484e) – taking another person’s/entity’s credit card (or credit card information) whether or not you buy anything with it
• Forging credit/debit card information (PC 484f) – altering a credit card, counterfeiting one, or signing someone else’s name during a transaction without their consent
• Retailer credit card fraud (PC 484h) – credit card theft done by merchants
• Counterfeiting credit cards (PC 484i) – manufacturing a fake credit card or possessing credit card-making machinery
• Publishing credit/debit card information (PC 484j) – disseminating current or expired credit card information orally or in writing
• Grand larceny (PC 487) – stealing more than $950 worth of goods or services
• Identity theft (PC 530.5) – using someone else’s personal identifying information for an unlawful purpose

Penal Code 484g PC makes it a crime to fraudulently use another person’s credit or debit card.

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