Another Credit Card Thieve Indicted

A recent story in the news has left me feeling both happy and sad all at the same time.  The sadness comes from the fact that credit card thieves and fraud specialists continue to pull the same sad tricks.  But, the happiness comes from knowing that at least some of these sleaze balls get hit with more than just a slap on the hand.

Let me explain …. Donnie Hudgins, who is the 59 year old owner of Botetourt Travel and Tours was indicted on March 5 for his shameful practices.  In all, he was hit with 26 direct indictments as well as four certified indictments for a number of reasons, including credit card fraud, obtaining money through false pretense, identity theft, forgery, and credit card theft. 

To make matters worse, after filing bankruptcy and trying to shrug off his debts, he continued to use credit card numbers that didn’t belong to him in order to continue with his carefree lifestyle.  So, not only did he attempt to leave his lenders high and dry, he also took advantage of his past customers by accessing their credit card information to make fraudulent purchases.

Another aspect of this story that puts a smile on my face is the fact that this case didn’t get dragged on and on for no good reason.  In fact, Hudgins was only arrested in mid-December of last year.  Don’t get me wrong, I do believe in “Innocent until proven guilty.”  But, it sure is frustrating when a person that is obviously guilty of a crime that has mounds of evidence stacked against him manages to drag a trial on for months or even years. 

Those taken advantage of my Hudgins were concerned last month when he waived his right to have a preliminary hearing.  This left many feeling concerned that they would never see the justice they deserve.

All told, however, Hudgins faces a possible maximum sentence of 300 years.  Of course, those people that he affected will likely be trying to clean up the mess for years to come.  After all, anyone whose credit has been tampered with knows that the problem isn’t easy to undo and that the effects of being the victim of identity theft can continue to creep up for a very long time.  It seems like these people were taken on an extra trip by this travel company that they hadn’t planned on.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 9th, 2007 at 2:58 pm and is filed under Credit Card News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.