March 25, 2010
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News: Stunned By Tummy Tuck
Credit card thieves have been known to rack up billions of dollars in cash advances and extravagant shopping sprees. Here's a new twist, a Kirkland, Washington woman used a stolen credit card to pay for a tummy tuck. Alexandra Polack allegedly stole the card from one of her co-workers while they were at a medical training session. She used the card to apply a $2,000 deposit toward the tummy tuck plastic surgery. According to court documents, Polack was told she needed a 15 percent deposit before the clinic could schedule the surgery. She left and shortly thereafter returned with the stolen credit card. After making the deposit, the clinic scheduled the surgery for the following week. Later, Polack attempted to charge over $11,000 at the local Best Buy.
The victim's bank notified her that someone had charged the $2,000 and attempted to the large purchase at Best Buy. Following the incident at the Best Buy, the authorities were called in. During the investigation, the authorities learned that the victim was not Polack's only co-worker to be victimized. Two other employees reported having their credit cards stolen. When questioned, Polack denied any involvement in the other two thefts. Prior to the police confronting her, Polack heard of a possible investigation. In an attempt to rectify the situation, she approached the victim and admitted to stealing the credit card. She pleaded with the woman to keep the incident between them because she was a single mom of two young children.
When confronted by her employer, Polack admitted to stealing the card. After apologizing to the victim, Polack attempted to repay a portion of the credit card charges back and pleaded with the clinic not to involve the police. After their refusal, Polack checked herself into a Kirkland hospital claiming she had contacted an infection at the plastic surgeon's site. Polack has been charged with first degree identity theft and unlawful issuance of checks.