WATERVILLE, Maine — A man with a criminal history racked up additional charges after he found a woman’s credit card at a gas station and purchased nearly $5,000 worth of items, police said Friday.
Chad Gilley, 38, of Waterville, who has assault and burglary convictions on his record, was arrested Wednesday. He told authorities he found a Clinton woman’s credit card at a local gas station late last week, Waterville police Sgt. Alan Main told the Bangor Daily News.
Main said Gilley used the card to buy food, a hotel room, and clothes, among other items.
The woman’s bank noticed the unusual activity on her credit card account. “The bank contacted her Monday with these numerous charges, verifying if everything was OK,” Main said.
The woman’s husband had last used the card on Feb. 10, and between then and Monday Gilley had charged the card 20 times, according to Main.
The woman subsequently contacted police, and Officer Jen Weaver launched an investigation, during which the victim showed police her bank statements.
After police spoke with employees at establishments where Gilley had used the card, Weaver went to the Econo Lodge on Kennedy Memorial Drive, where a clerk mentioned the person who had charged the card was still in a room, Main said.
Weaver attempted to make contact by knocking on the room but received no response. Weaver and two other officers used a hotel key to gain entry and discovered Gilley in the room with four children, ages 6 to 11, and a homeless woman, who is the mother of the children.
When Gilley was interviewed, he told Weaver where he had found the card, and that he had charged a candy bar to see if it would work, the sergeant said.
Gilley was arrested and the Department of Health and Human Services was called to pick up the woman and children and take them to a shelter.
Gilley was taken to the Kennebec County Jail in Augusta and charged with felony theft and felony forgery. He also was wanted for failure to pay restitution and a hold by probation authorities, Main said.
Gilley faces up to five years behind bars if he is convicted.
What a guy! Helping the homeless and himself with the help of a stolen credit card.
He is just spreading the wealth.
Yeah, Like Robbing Hood!
No, No. He’s part of the 99%, redistrib. the wealth.
No like Obama!!
Was he a tall, good looking black man with a silver tongue who was born in Kenya?
You are a sick puppy…….
Too much kool-aid
I’m pretty sure it says to “stay on topic”–not stray from topic.
Difficult I know, but try; would you?
Why, thank you very much!
I didn’t know I had a fan club!
Neither did I!
Hopefully, her credit card company drops the charges. This happened to me one time and I didn’t even lose my card. I think it was through an Amazon transaction. Next thing you know I’m at Piggy Wiggly in N.C. buying 400 dollars worth of groceries and then after the shopping spree they decided to head out to Longhorn Steak House for a 225.00 meal. Thankfully I was called and they took the charges off. Cancelled the card before any further damage was done.
After all these years the credit card companies still don’t have a way to stop this type of theft-or do they?Are they afraid of the “Big Brother ” accusations? With all of the advanced fingerprint and optical technology out there one would think that all or most of this could be stopped. Is there another business that could put up with this expense?
There are many ways to stop this type of theft, that don’t even involve the credit card companies themselves. This man used a physical card, not a number over the phone. It is up to the clerks who ran the card to check that the signatures match, ask for ID if you question the signatures, and most importantly, REFUSE the sale if a man is using a card with a woman’s name on it. At least 20 cashiers/clerks/front desk employees failed this woman by not following these VERY SIMPLE steps.
You are correct- I rarely get put through any of that. They didn’t fail the woman, she’s liable for $50.00 -if anything.
Financially they may not have failed her, but she still has to deal with the headache of straightening this mess out, so yes, they did fail her.
Good point, but remember her husband lost the card, not the credit card company.
Unfortunately, the marital bills are usually considered owned by both parties. Check with your friendly local divorce lawyer first. Rules may vary. :)
these entities don’t care where the money comes from as long as it’s available. I give my debit card to my boys sometimes to use. No problem. CC companies will cover every penny of fraud………and they should. Good job catching this guy before the price was higher than 5 grand.
I can’t understand it either. All cards should have a photo (my Cap one cards do) and a PIN. Of course this wouldn’t stop internet theft and if they can hack your number, they could also get the answers to your security questions. There are certainly better ways to safeguard a credit card, and should have at LEAST the same restrictions as a debit card.
And yes, I’ve been ripped off 3 times this way, including a call to Israel from Turkey! The only time I used it was at Chicago O’Hare 20 years ago.The company was calling me about it when I got home. It didn’t go thru. :)
Watch out, People!
That could be used as a form of Identication for voting!! Problem solved
I thought of that, but I didn’t want an uproar coming from the ‘inconvenienced’ crowd. :)
You’ll find the answer in the rules they impose on the merchants. They want it to be convenient and easy to use your credit cards. They don’t want the merchant to “play cop” too much and alienate or offend cardholders. If the name on the card doesn’t seem to match the gender or ethnicity of the customer you’re not supposed to question it.
That makes sense. I rarely go to the grocery store, but the last time I did I didn’t eevn have to sign as I guess the amount was too low. Tight security!
You also have gas pumps, vending machines, fast food joints, etc. that don’t require a signature. Somebody can kill you and drive your car all the way to California using your credit cards without ever signing for a purchase.
If it’s over $20.00 you have to sign.
I think the new systems where the customer swipes the card is a major part of the problem. Cashiers don’t ask to see the cards or ask for ID’s anymore because of these systems. Somethings were just better the old way.
Now that’s great police work! Good job!
I am sure all of this is nothing more than a mistake for Mr. Gilley…..along with the past assault and burglary convictions…..people on here are way too judgmental……
I’ve known Chad a long time. He’s not really a BAD man. He is misguided, however.
A history of assault and burglary now with added charges for felony theft and forgery……somehow “misguided” doesn’t seem to describe it for me……
Sorry.
Remember the commercial that Visa had years ago ? SAFE , EASY , CONVENIENT ! The Visa credit card !
An entrepreneur. Open for business!
uhhhh…I charged a candy bar…uhhhh….five thousand times…..
“Faces five years”, Most likely not in this state.
I want to know if a woman lost the card and he is a guy…why isn’t anyone checking for ID. These stores allow this to happen. Until the stores start cracking down and check for ID this stuff happens. If you are not the cardholder…..then you are not buying anything. I say the stores credit the woman back and take the lost.
I believe it said her Husband lost the card, maybe he had one with his name on it?
The credit card company will just pass the loss along for us to pay in the form of new “fees”.
Took the bank 3 days to contact her on them charges, I make a $2 purchase at a store one morning and my bank shut my card off calling that unusual activity, I guess to stop that in the future I should look into hotel rooms
Desperate times call for desperate measures. He bought food, clothes and a room for a homeless woman and her four kids. Of course using this credit card that he found was not right, but it is a sad reminder of how bad things are. People will do whatever they must to survive.