In Michigan law, debit cards and credit cards are also called financial transaction devices. This list also includes gift cards or rebate cards. In Michigan, Credit Card and Debit Card Crimes are taken very seriously by all local prosecutors. If you are facing a felony or misdemeanor charge for Credit Card and Debit Card Crimes, you need to call Shawn now at 616-438-6719. Do not face these serious charges alone!
Penalties for Credit and Debit Card Crimes (FTD = Financial Transaction Device)
| Crime | Maximum Imprisonment and Fines |
| Possession of FTD with intent | 4 years and/or $5,000.00 |
| Forgery of FTD | 4 years and/or $5,000.00 |
| Use of FTD in excess of funds or limits Under $200 | 93 days and/or $500 or 3x the value of property |
| Use of FTD in excess of funds or limits $200 but less than $1,000 | 1 year and/or $2,000 or 3x the value of property |
| Use of FTD in excess of funds or limits $1,000 but less than $20,000 | 5 years and/or $10,000 or 3x the value of property |
The Amount Illegally Taken in Multiple Transactions Could Lead To Felony charges
In cases involving crimes such as credit card fraud or debit card fraud, the prosecutor may opt to charge separately for each illegal transaction or may opt to pursue a felony charge when the amount of multiple transactions is $1,000.00 or more. Under Michigan law, restitution can be ordered once someone is convicted of this crime.
Credit Card Fraud: Unlawful Possession, Lack of Consent
If a person has possession of a credit card without the consent of the person named on the credit card, prosecutors can file felony charges. Most of the time when this is the case, the credit card was stolen from a house or vehicle.
If the police show up to talk to you about illegal use of a credit card or illegal possession of a credit card, do not talk to them! The police are trained skillfully to use interrogation tactics to get a person to confess to a crime or at least appear to confess to a crime. If the police obtain a confession, that will destroy any defenses you may have. The police may ask you to take a polygraph examination. Do not take one without first talking to a skilled criminal defense attorney like Shawn Haff.
We work with clients in all West Michigan courts at every stage of the criminal process. If you are currently being investigated for a crime, have been arrested or have been charged with a crime, I can help. I make sure every defense available to you is actually raised, and I prepare each case as though it is going to trial. Please, always remember to never talk to police about your case. Please politely decline to speak to them unless you have hired an attorney to represent you. The police will use every word against you and that is a promise!
I have spent 16 years focused on criminal defense, and my office has handled more than 1,500 cases across the West Michigan courts.
If you are being charged or questioned about illegal use of a credit or debit card, call me today at 616-438-6719. The call is free.
The Charges Behind the Table
Michigan does not have a single "credit card fraud" statute. It has a cluster of financial transaction device offenses, and which one you are charged under matters more than the label:
- Stealing, retaining, or using a device without consent — MCL 750.157n(1). A felony. Knowingly taking a card from someone's person or possession, or knowingly keeping, hiding, or using one without the holder's consent. No transaction is required.
- Possessing a fraudulent or altered device — MCL 750.157n(2). Also a felony, independent of any use.
- Possession with intent — MCL 750.157p. 4 years and/or $5,000.
- Forgery of a device — MCL 750.157r. 4 years and/or $5,000.
- Use in excess of funds or limits — MCL 750.157w. Graded by amount: under $200 is a 93-day misdemeanor; $200 to under $1,000 is a 1-year misdemeanor; $1,000 to under $20,000 is a 5-year felony.
The practical takeaway is that the possession offenses carry felony exposure even where nothing was ever bought. People are routinely surprised that a card found during a traffic stop is a felony charge on its own.
Where These Cases Actually Come From
In my experience, four fact patterns account for most of them:
- A card taken from an unlocked car or a house. The card is used within an hour or two, usually at a gas station or a big-box store, and the store video becomes the case.
- A family member or partner's card. Used with what the client understood to be permission, reported after a falling-out. This overlaps heavily with identity theft, and consent is a real defense to both.
- A found card. Someone picks up a card in a parking lot and uses it. There is no burglary and no theft from a person, but MCL 750.157n still applies.
- Employee use. A card kept on file at a business, used outside the scope of authorization — which is often charged as embezzlement as well.
How I Defend Them
- Consent. Prior authorized use, shared accounts, and text messages granting permission are the strongest evidence in the family and relationship cases.
- Identification. Point-of-sale video is often low-resolution, poorly angled, and shows a hat and a hoodie. That is not proof of identity.
- Knowledge. Several of these offenses require that you acted knowingly. Using a card you reasonably believed you were entitled to use is not the offense.
- The amount. The tiers under MCL 750.157w turn on dollars. Disputed charges, duplicate postings, and bank fees folded into the total all belong out of the number.
- Search and seizure. These charges often follow a car search or a phone search. An unlawful search takes the evidence with it.
- Statements. Confessions obtained during an unwarned custodial interrogation, or after a request for counsel, are suppressible.
Related reading: identity theft in Michigan, theft and property crimes defense, uttering and publishing, bad checks, and white collar crimes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a "financial transaction device" under Michigan law?
It is the umbrella term Michigan uses instead of "credit card." It covers credit cards, debit cards, ATM cards, gift cards, rebate cards, account numbers, and the electronic means of accessing an account. Because the definition is written broadly, offenses that people think of as credit card fraud are charged under the financial transaction device statutes at MCL 750.157m and following.
Is possessing someone else's credit card a crime by itself?
It can be. Under MCL 750.157n(1), knowingly taking, removing, retaining, possessing, secreting, or using a financial transaction device without the deviceholder's consent is a felony — no purchase required. MCL 750.157n(2) makes knowingly possessing a fraudulent or altered device a felony as well. This is why people are charged after a card is simply found in a car or a wallet.
Can multiple small purchases be combined into a felony?
Yes. Prosecutors may charge each transaction separately, or aggregate the amounts and pursue a single felony where the total reaches $1,000 or more. Whether the transactions were genuinely part of one scheme, and whether the total is accurate, are both worth contesting — the dollar figure is what sets the penalty tier.
Should I take a polygraph if the police ask?
Not without talking to a lawyer first. Polygraph results are generally inadmissible in a Michigan criminal trial, so a test cannot clear you in court — but everything you say before, during, and after it can be used against you. A polygraph request is an interrogation technique. Decline politely and call a lawyer.
Will I have to pay the money back?
If there is a conviction, yes — restitution is standard in these cases and is based on the actual loss to the cardholder or the issuing bank. Banks frequently make the cardholder whole and then seek restitution themselves. Getting the loss figure right, and separating charges you actually made from charges you did not, is part of the defense.
Talk to Me Before You Talk to the Police
I am Shawn Haff, and I defend theft and property crime cases across Kent, Ottawa, Allegan, Barry, Ionia, Muskegon, Newaygo, and Van Buren counties. The call is free, I answer my own phone, and in a property case the earlier I am involved the more room there is to work. Call 616-438-6719 or send me a message.