720 ILCS 5/17-36 – Use of Counterfeited, Forged, Expired, Revoked, or Unissued Credit or Debit Card
This law makes it a crime to use a fake, expired, or stolen credit or debit card to buy things or get money.
This law says that if someone uses a fake, stolen, or expired credit or debit card to try to buy something or get money on purpose, they are committing a felony. The punishment depends on how much they try to get or actually get within six months.
Sec. 17-36. A person breaks this law when they try to trick a bank, a store, or another person by doing one of two things:
- Using a credit or debit card they know is fake, stolen, copied, expired, or canceled, or using one without the owner’s permission to get something of value.
- Pretending to be the owner of a credit or debit card, or claiming to have a card that doesn’t actually exist, in order to get money or items of value.
Sentence: If the total value of everything obtained or tried to be obtained in six months is $300 or less, it is a Class 4 felony. If the total is more than $300 in six months, it becomes a Class 3 felony.
The court (called the “trier of fact”) can assume that a person knew their card was canceled if a notice was mailed to them:
- Four days after it was mailed by registered or certified mail, with return receipt requested. If the address is over 500 miles away, it counts four days after air mail is sent.
- Ten days after the letter was mailed by registered or certified mail if it was sent to an address outside the United States, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Canal Zone, or Canada.
Contact us online or call (314) 900-HELP to talk with a Southern Illinois criminal defense lawyer.
