Credit Card Fraud in Fort Lauderdale and Miami, Florida

The fraudulent use of credit cards and debit cards has prompted the creation of special prosecutorial task forces. The state attorney’s office in Fort Lauderdale which prosecutes in Fort Lauderdale, Broward County has a special unit just for credit card and identity theft. The state attorney’s office for Palm Beach County also has a special unit for identity theft cases. In recent years the federal government has provided significant funds which local law enforcement uses to focus on credit card and identity theft matters. The US attorney’s office in South Florida, which brings federal criminal indictments in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Palm Beach, also has increased resources for credit card and identity theft cases. Federal prosecutions are usually brought under the wire fraud statutes. For cases filed under as a credit card faud prosecutor’s file under statute 817 and 812. If you are arrested in Fort Lauderdale under the theft statute the minimum felony exposure is five years. Five years because 15 years if it’s more than $20,000 in total loss, it becomes a first-degree felony for over $100,000 in losses. If you’re prosecuted in Fort Lauderdale or Miami for first-degree felony the maximum prison sentence is 30 years. Because the victim is usually a bank or credit card clearinghouse the individual name which is being used is not an integral part of the prosecutor’s case. Identity theft prosecutions arise not only for credit card and debit card matters but also from ATM machines.