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May 15, 2007
NEWS: Are Returned Cards Theft?
By almost anyone’s standards,
Lucas Nicol was an extraordinarily conscientious
fraudster. After he broke into the home of
sixty-two-year-old retiree Bob Bulat and stole
his credit cards for use on a no-holds-barred
shopping spree, he returned them. Yes, that’s
right – Nicol actually re-burgled Bulat’s hoe,
for the purpose of returning his credit cards to
their rightful place, exactly where he found
them. Now, Nicol’s lawyer is trying to argue to
a Lyons, Illinois appellate court that his
client is not a thief.
Nicols, aged twenty-nine, used Bulat’s cards for
over $2,000 in purchases, on concert tickets,
clothes and music-recording equipment. His
lawyer, Christopher Kopacz, does not deny that
Nicols is guilty of fraud, but does not want him
charged with theft. Per Kopacz, state statute as
regarding the definition of theft requires
intent to permanently deprive the owner of the
use of something. Kopacz argues that, by that
very definition, Nicols did not commit true
theft – because he returned the cards to Bulat
when he was done using them for fraud.
Luckily, the state appellate court did not agree
with Kopacz’s seriously questionable line of
defense. They upheld Nicols’ original conviction
and sentence to 364 days in state lockup. As for
Bulat, he says that the charges have been
reimbursed to him by the credit card companies
in question.
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