A 60-year-old couple in Hall County, Georgia, was arrested after allegedly finding someone else’s stolen credit card on the street and running up nearly $5,000 in charges.
Arrest and Charges Following a Police Investigation
According to the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, Wendell Burt Cooper (65) and Sandra Ruth Cooper (61), both residents of Clarkesville, were arrested on the 13th on charges of financial transaction card theft and credit card fraud. The investigation began on the 25th of last month when a woman filed an online report with the sheriff’s office after noticing multiple unauthorized transactions on her credit card account.
The female victim discovered that her credit card was missing after checking her transaction history. She told police that the last place she used the card was at a business on South Enota Drive in Gainesville on September 22nd. Investigation results revealed that Wendell Cooper had found the credit card on the ground outside the business where the victim had last used it.
Nearly $5,000 Spent Across Nine Local Businesses
The Cooper couple proceeded to use the card at nine different businesses throughout the county over a two-day period on September 22nd and 23rd, fraudulently charging a total of $4,936.10. Property crime investigators identified the couple as suspects after personally visiting the nine businesses, questioning employees, and analyzing surveillance footage from both inside and outside the stores.
Sheriff’s deputies subsequently arrested the couple at their home in Clarkesville. Wendell Cooper and Sandra Cooper each face 15 felony charges, including one count of financial transaction card theft and 14 counts of credit card fraud. Both suspects are currently being held at the Hall County Detention Center.
