Penticton man sentenced to more than five months for credit card fraud

PENTICTON – A Penticton man who went on an unauthorized spending spree with someone else’s credit cards will spend a total of 167 days in prison for his crimes.

Richard James Meier entered guilty pleas to fraud of $5,000 and under, possession of stolen property under $5,000, in Penticton court yesterday, Jan. 15.

Crown Prosecutor John Swanson told court Penticton RCMP were called by a Penticton resident reporting her purse missing while at The Bay on July 10, 2016.

Upon her return home she had telephone messages from Visa that someone was attempting to use her credit card.

Her Mastercard was also reported to be in unauthorized use.

Police investigating the matter discovered the Mastercard had been used for at least six different transactions at various locations, totalling around $700.

The Visa card was used for around $100 in charges.

Swanson asked Judge Gale Sinclair for a sentence of five months for the frauds, in addition to 45 days for two Surrey-based probation breaches.

Defence lawyer Michael Patterson said his client’s long criminal history was all drug related. He said Meier had been in and out of drug treatment facilities, but wanted to try once again.

Judge Sinclair pronounced a sentence totalling 152 days for the counts of fraud and possession of stolen property, along with an additional 15 days for the Surrey breaches.

With credit for enhanced time served, Meier has 21 days left in his jail sentence, after which he will face a two year probationary period where he will not be allowed to consume drugs or alcohol, or have in his possession any credit cards other than his own.

He is also expected to make restitution totalling $801.82 to Visa and Master Card.

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