Woman pleads guilty to credit card fraud
MADISON — A woman who fled police at 100 mph then set her car on fire on Interstate 90/39 in Janesville pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to credit card fraud involving more than $25,000 in illegally obtained cash advances from casinos.
Leah M. Pospisil, 29, was a fugitive on federal charges Sept. 26 when Edgerton and Milton police were dispatched to Pospisil’s parents’ home in Milton in response to a report that Pospisil was threatening her family with a gas can.
Pospisil fled the residence and later was seen by police driving in Janesville. The resulting pursuit led onto the Interstate. The chase ended with police tackling Pospisil after she drenched her car and herself with gasoline and ran along the highway.
The U.S. Secret Service had been looking for Pospisil, who was charged in federal court in Missouri in 2009 with fraudulent use of credit cards, Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Graber said. The indictment alleged Pospisil, often using the name Loren Fry, teamed up with at least two men and used stolen credit card numbers and forged driver’s licenses to obtain cash advances at casinos in several states.
Beginning in September 2007, Pospisil obtained several thousand dollars in cash advances at casinos in Louisiana, Mississippi, Michigan and Illinois, according to an affidavit filed in court by a Missouri highway patrol officer. In December 2007, Pospisil was arrested in Aurora, Ill., on suspicion of using a stolen credit card. She pleaded guilty to identity theft.
After her arrest, Pospisil continued to use stolen credit card numbers in 15 fraudulent transactions totaling $12,500 in Mississippi and Missouri between Jan. 30 and Feb. 24, 2008, according to the affidavit.
In court on Tuesday, Pospisil told District Judge Barbara Crabb that she took credit cards and fake identification cards into casinos to obtain money.
“I didn’t know how severe a crime it was, but I knew it was a crime,” she said.
Defense attorney Jack Hoag told Crabb that Pospisil was “recruited by others to do this, and much of the money obtained was given to another person.”
Pospisil remains in federal custody pending her May 11 sentencing. She faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, three years supervised release and restitution. The amount owed remains to be determined, Graber said.
In December, Pospisil was placed on five years’ probation in Rock County Court after being convicted of arson in connection with the car fire. She received five days in jail after pleading no contest to reckless driving.
Graber said one of Pospisil’s co-defendants has been sentenced in federal court in Missouri in connection with the credit card fraud scheme.
Mar 12, 2010 at 5:25 p.m.
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I can judge all I wish. These are boards for opinions regarding a story. Sorry if you don't want to read them. Pick up a magazine or something.
Mar 11, 2010 at 10:53 p.m.
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shoudnot judge till you know the facts
Mar 11, 2010 at 7:07 p.m.
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Yes frusion.... I sold commercial websites, and the "back doors" on most people's personal 'puters are accessible. It all comes down to too much personal information being harvested from sites like Facebook. Date of birth, place of birth, mother's maiden name... address, phone numbers, place of employment.
Once "in", the info on someone's personal computer might hold private passwords for bank sites, etc. Once someone's personally identifying facts are harvested, its quick and easy to destroy their credit. It is happening all over the world. They are calculating, precise and untraceable.
Mar 11, 2010 at 4:21 p.m.
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MBHammer...I agree with your class in school idea...but maybe it should be "How to EARN a life".....some people think stealing, fraud, collecting (not due to necessity) from "government" programs is getting a life...I think you EARN a life...it shouldn't be given to you...you probably don't appreciate then... and it all comes out of pockets......JMO
Mar 11, 2010 at 12:45 p.m.
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We need to have a class in school, How to Get a Life. Maybe this would reduce crime.
Mar 11, 2010 at 11:46 a.m.
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MOC0428 not necessarily or exclusively through Facebook. But you are correct that people can have all sorts of malware and viruses that could seriously compromise the security of a PC. I work on PCs as a hobby for friends and I am amazed at people that go out to the Internet with no virus protection or malware protection. I've seen PCs so loaded with crap that they barely operate.
Mar 11, 2010 at 11:37 a.m.
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frusion: I agree with your statement but I do wonder if facebook is just a way for someone to get to your personal info. So many people bank online and pay bills online that it could be used just to get into your pc. You would of course have to be dumb enough to click on crap that you get spammed with. I don't know just wondering if that is possible?
Mar 11, 2010 at 9:25 a.m.
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I don't remember them mentioning this fraud when they spoke of setting herself on fire long ago.
Mar 11, 2010 at 8:52 a.m.
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gmaof3, do you know the Facebook angle personally or is that something you heard on the news? I have a few years of Facebook experience with many friends all over the world and I have not seen ANYTHING where you could steal someone's identity off of Facebook. That is an urban tale. The common things you see are where people work, an email address and telephone number. You need more than that to steal an identity.
Mar 11, 2010 at 8:19 a.m.
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She knew it was a crime, just not how severe!!
.
Right.
Mar 10, 2010 at 8:40 p.m.
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prevention... another valid point is, if stealing a wallet or purse nets a cachet of identifying "numbers", the easiest way to get personal info is to check Facebook. Its scary to discover how much people divulge on a website with international attention. Honestly, how appealing would this be for a crook? And it potentially could be untraceable.
I am older than the "web-fluent" kids, but I am internet savvy... and I expect to see much more sabotage type crimes, in the next few years.
If one has to be a thief though, at least she enjoyed herself. Must have been an adventure....
Mar 10, 2010 at 6:05 p.m.
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She apparently didn't know that there is a right and wrong side of "working hard for your money."
Your right, gma, she's lost!
Mar 10, 2010 at 4:45 p.m.
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Wow! So she couldn't find a job, so lets just pilfer someone's identity and have some fun!
Loser!
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