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A 30-year-old woman using a counterfeit credit card racked up $21,000 in charges during a five-day shopping binge that included a $4,000 purchase at a jewelry store, the victim of her scheme said.
Sadie J. Groy, who has no local address, pleaded not guilty Thursday to 20 criminal charges before Circuit Judge Richard Perkins. He confirmed her bail at $500,000.
Police are investigating whether personal information Groy used may have come from Honolulu Star-Advertiser billing information that was being kept in a storage facility, a source said.
The source did not know how the information was obtained and said the investigation aims to determine whether there are more victims and how many people may have been affected.
Police have not released any official information pertaining to the case.
Dennis Francis, president and publisher of the Star-Advertiser, said the newspaper is cooperating with police but that very little is known as the investigation is ongoing.
Groy is charged with nine counts of second-degree identity theft, nine counts of fraudulent use of a credit card, one count of unauthorized possession of confidential personal information and one count of second-degree theft.
Her jury trial is set for August before Judge Edward Kubo. She is being held at Oahu Community Correctional Center unable to post bail.
Groy’s victim, a local business owner who asked not to be identified, said Groy made the illegal purchases from May 1 to 5.
"She went on a shopping spree with about 15 to 20 vendors and racked up about $21,000 in charges," the victim said by phone. "She took my credit card number and used my credit card number on a counterfeit credit card."
The victim, who didn’t know how Groy obtained his information, said Groy used information from a business credit card account in his name. He said police are investigating whether other people were involved in the scheme.
The victim said bank authorities told him that Groy created a fake credit card with her name and his account number, then asked businesses to type in the credit card information instead of swiping the fake card.
She used the card at businesses including Foodland, Hilo Hattie, Party City, Kmart, Longs Drugs, Don Quijote, City Mill, Ross Dress for Less, Sears, Best Buy and Jeans Warehouse. Her largest purchase was at the Diamond Co. for $4,141, the victim said.
The victim said his bank notified him about the suspicious activity May 5 and froze the account.
Groy was arrested May 30.
The victim said the fraud prompted him to review how his own company accepts payments, noting that his employees will now decline credit cards that cannot be swiped.