Credit Card Fraud Charges in South Carolina: Penalties and Defenses

The popular image of credit card fraud is a hooded figure with a stack of stolen plastic at a gas pump. The actual cases that come through the Moss Justice Center look very different.

It’s the college student who used a friend’s card to order food a few times after the friendship ended. It’s the spouse who kept using the joint card after the separation. It’s the employee who put a personal purchase on the company card and forgot. It’s the person whose name ended up on a transaction made from their stolen wallet, then got charged when the card showed up days later.

It’s also, sometimes, exactly what you’d picture — and South Carolina prosecutes those cases hard.

Whatever the facts of your case, financial transaction card fraud in South Carolina is a serious charge that can range from a misdemeanor to a felony depending on the dollar amount and the circumstances. Here’s how the law actually works, what’s at stake, and what the realistic path forward looks like.

The Statute That Governs These Cases

South Carolina prosecutes credit card cases primarily under the Financial Transaction Card Crime Act, codified at SC Code § 16-14-10 through § 16-14-100. The Act covers a wide range of conduct involving credit cards, debit cards, and other financial transaction instruments.

The most common charges that come out of this statute:

Financial Transaction Card Theft (§ 16-14-40)

Taking, obtaining, or withholding a financial transaction card from the cardholder without consent — including receiving a card you know to have been lost, stolen, or mistakenly delivered.

Financial Transaction Card Forgery (§ 16-14-50)

Making, embossing, or signing a financial transaction card with intent to defraud, or signing a card not actually issued to you.

Financial Transaction Card Fraud (§ 16-14-60)

Using, or attempting to use, a card with intent to defraud — including:

• Using a card you know is stolen
• Using a card you know is forged
• Using a card you know has been revoked or canceled
• Using a card to obtain money, goods, services, or anything of value when you knew the card use wasn’t authorized
• Falsely making, drawing, or uttering a sales draft

This is the catch-all charge that covers most “I used a card that wasn’t mine” scenarios.

Receipt of Goods Obtained by Card Fraud (§ 16-14-80)

Knowingly receiving money, goods, or services obtained through fraudulent card use.

What Your Charge Actually Carries

Penalties depend on the dollar amount involved during a six-month period.

Felony Threshold: $500 or More

If the value of money, goods, services, or anything of value obtained is $500 or more within a six-month period, the charge is a felony punishable by:

• Up to 5 years in prison
• A fine in the discretion of the court (often substantial)
• Restitution to the victims

Misdemeanor: Less Than $500

If the value involved is less than $500 within a six-month period, the charge is a misdemeanor punishable by:

• Up to 3 years in prison
• A fine of up to $1,000

Note that the misdemeanor still carries up to 3 years — that’s significant prison exposure for what’s classified as a misdemeanor offense.

Federal Exposure

Many credit card fraud cases also have federal implications under 18 U.S.C. § 1029, which addresses fraud involving “access devices.” Federal cases generally involve:

• Cases crossing state lines
• Cases involving 15 or more devices
• Cases with losses over $1,000 to a single person or entity
• Cases involving organized fraud rings

Federal prosecution carries significantly higher penalties — up to 10 years in federal prison for a first offense, up to 20 for repeat offenses, with no parole.

What’s Really at Stake Beyond the Sentence

A credit card fraud conviction follows you in ways the sentence alone doesn’t capture.

• Permanent fraud-related criminal record. Background checks flag fraud convictions especially aggressively in any role involving money, financial information, or trust.
• Career destruction in finance, accounting, banking, healthcare, real estate, and government. A fraud conviction is often a categorical disqualifier.
• Loss of professional licenses. Nursing, teaching, real estate, securities, accounting, legal — every licensing board takes fraud convictions seriously.
• Immigration consequences. Fraud is generally a “crime involving moral turpitude” under federal immigration law, and certain fraud-related convictions can be classified as “aggravated felonies” under federal immigration law, triggering removal proceedings for non-citizens.
• Federal student aid impact. Felony convictions affect eligibility for certain programs.
• Restitution. Court-ordered restitution survives bankruptcy and can be enforced through wage garnishment for years.
• Civil liability. A criminal conviction can support a civil judgment for the same conduct.

The collateral consequences often outlast the sentence itself by years.

How These Cases Actually Get Built

Credit card fraud cases generally develop along one of a few paths.

The cardholder reports it. A cardholder discovers an unauthorized charge, files a fraud claim with the issuing bank, and the bank files a police report. Investigators trace the transaction (point of sale, IP address, delivery address, surveillance footage).

The merchant reports it. A merchant — often a retailer, gas station, or restaurant — flags suspicious activity (declined cards followed by approved ones, signature mismatches, behavior patterns) and refers it to police.

The bank or issuer reports it. Card issuers run fraud detection algorithms and refer suspicious accounts to law enforcement.

A separate investigation discovers it. A drug case, a theft case, or another investigation turns up cards or card data and opens a separate fraud investigation.

The investigation typically involves:

• Pulling transaction records from the bank
• Pulling surveillance footage from points of sale
• Tracing IP addresses for online purchases
• Reviewing delivery addresses for online orders
• Subpoenaing phone records and social media
• Interviewing the alleged cardholder, merchants, and witnesses

By the time you know you’re being investigated, much of this work is already done. That’s why early defense involvement matters in fraud cases more than people realize.

What Actually Defends a Credit Card Fraud Case

The defense work in these cases generally moves on five fronts.

1. The State Has to Prove Intent to Defraud

Every charge under the Financial Transaction Card Crime Act requires intent to defraud. That’s not just “you used the card.” It’s “you used the card knowing you weren’t authorized and intending to deceive.”

Common situations where intent is genuinely at issue:

• A spouse or partner used a card they reasonably believed was authorized for shared use
• An employee used a company card for what they thought was a permissible business purpose
• A family member used a card under a long-standing informal arrangement
• A cardholder believed they had an account with sufficient funds when they didn’t

In these cases, the defense isn’t “I didn’t use the card” — it’s “I didn’t have intent to defraud.” That’s a real distinction the prosecution has to overcome at trial.

2. Identification

Just because a card was used doesn’t mean the state can prove who used it. Card data can be:

• Stolen and used by someone else
• Cloned (skimmed) and used by a third party
• Used by someone who got the data through a data breach
• Used by a roommate or family member with access to the wallet

The state has to connect you specifically to the use of the card. Surveillance footage, delivery addresses, IP addresses — each can be challenged.

3. Suppression

If the police obtained evidence through an illegal search of your home, car, phone, or computer — or through a defective warrant — that evidence can be suppressed. Fraud cases often involve digital evidence that has its own Fourth Amendment analysis (warrant required for cell phone searches under Riley v. California).

4. The Six-Month Aggregation Window

The felony/misdemeanor line is $500 within a six-month period. Charges that cross the threshold by combining transactions outside a true six-month window can be challenged. So can charges that aggregate transactions where the prosecution can’t tie them all to the same defendant.

Sometimes a felony case becomes a misdemeanor case just by recalibrating the dates.

5. Restitution and Negotiation

Many credit card fraud cases resolve through a combination of restitution and a reduced charge. Prosecutors are often willing to negotiate when:

• The defendant has the means and willingness to make full restitution
• The conduct involved a relationship dispute rather than predatory behavior
• The defendant has no prior fraud history
• The amount involved is at or just over the felony line
• The case has identification or intent vulnerabilities

A defendant who pays full restitution and agrees to anger management or financial counseling often walks out with a misdemeanor disposition where the original charge was a felony.

What to Do Right Now If You’ve Been Charged or Are Being Investigated

1. Stop using any card or account that’s part of the investigation. Even if you believe the use was authorized.

2. Don’t talk to investigators without a lawyer. “Detective wants me to come in and clear it up” is the moment to call an attorney, not to drive to the station.

3. Don’t talk to the cardholder, merchant, or alleged victim. Especially if the situation involves a former spouse, ex-partner, or former employer. Direct contact creates witness tampering exposure.

4. Don’t post about it on social media. Posts about money, spending, or the dispute itself become discoverable.

5. Preserve any records that support your version. Texts, emails, prior authorizations, account access histories — anything that shows the use was authorized or that you reasonably believed it was.

6. Get a defense attorney involved before any interview, before any plea, before the first court date. Strategic decisions in fraud cases get made in the early phase, before discovery is complete.

How Okoye Law Approaches Credit Card Fraud Cases

Our founder Colin Okoye is a former public defender. We handle fraud cases across the spectrum — from misdemeanor cases involving family or relationship disputes to felony cases involving substantial losses and multiple counts.

The work is detail-intensive: bank records, transaction histories, surveillance review, digital forensics, witness interviews, and parallel negotiation with both the prosecution and any civil claimants.

We work cases at:

• York County General Sessions Court (Moss Justice Center)
• Rock Hill Municipal Court for misdemeanor cases
• Magistrate courts across York County
• The U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina when federal charges apply

Learn more about our Rock Hill criminal defense practice, our theft and fraud-related work, or meet Colin Okoye.

Confidential Consultation

A credit card fraud charge isn’t necessarily what it looks like. The intent element gives defense room. The aggregation rules give defense room. The identification evidence gives defense room.

Request a consultation or schedule an appointment. The first conversation is protected by attorney-client privilege. We’ll review the transactions, the investigation, and the actual elements the state has to prove — and tell you straight where the case looks defensible.

Read our reviews from clients who came to us with charges that didn’t tell the whole story.