Is it considered fraud if a husband opens a charge account for his wife under her instructions to do so?
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Is it considered fraud if a husband opens a charge account for his wife under her instructions to do so?
My wife asked me to open a credit card account for her on-line because she couldn’t be bothered or didn’t know how. the card arrived and we used it during a move. now the marriage is going bad and my wife is now trying to claim she knew nothing about it and that the account was opened without her knowledge. Is this considered some form of fraud?
Asked on March 27, 2011 under Criminal Law, Missouri
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
There's the legal answer and the practical answer:
Legally, it would not be fraud--which, after all, involves a misrepresentation or lie--against the wife if it was done as per the wife's instructions. (It may possibly be a fraud vis-a-vis the credit card issuer, if in opening the account you represented to them that you were your wife--e.g. you made misrepresentations as to your identity.)
Practically, if she claims that she had no knowledge and you committed fraud, then it may be difficult to prove otherwise if it's just your testimony against hers. You should look for anything you have--emails, text messages, etc.--which would support that you did this with her knowledge, encouragment, and consent.
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