dinner out with his family wound up costing Michael Fitzgerald nearly $3,400, plus interest.
The King George County man became a victim of identity theft when he accidently left his credit card behind after eating at Chili's restaurant on Garrisonville Road in Stafford County.
Two employees have been charged with racking up several thousands of dollars on the card in November.
The restaurant helped him track down the employees. But Chili's isn't assuming any responsibility for the crime. And Fitzgerald's bank won't remove the fraudulent purchases from his account.
Four months have since passed, and interest is accruing.
Fitzgerald is stuck with the bill and doesn't know if he should pay it or wait to see if anyone will take responsibility.
"I'm an innocent victim," Fitzgerald said. "Should I wait two years so they can pay my restitution?"
What happened?Fitzgerald and his family enjoyed a night out at the Stafford Marketplace restaurant in late October.
He went to get the car while his wife and three children waited for the waitress to bring the receipt.
She signed the receipt and met her husband in the parking lot.
A few days later while on an out-of-town business trip, Fitzgerald realized he didn't have his card.
He called his wife to ask if she had it. But she said she thought he did because the waitress didn't bring it back with the receipt that night.
He spoke to a Chili's manager, who said they had his card locked in the safe.
"I went to pick it up a week later, and they couldn't find it," Fitzgerald said. "A week after that, they found it and I picked it up."
When he received his November statement from the Marine Federal Credit Union, he noticed $3,385.09 worth of purchases he didn't make.
More than $2,200 was spent at Wal-Mart, and hundreds of dollars were spent at Target, Kohl's and even Chili's.
He reported the unauthorized purchases to his bank and contacted Chili's, which assisted the police in the investigation.
In December, a Chili's waitress and hostess were arrested.
Stafford residents Melissa Rene Parker, 20, and Elice May Strawderman, 19, were charged with credit card theft, six counts of credit card fraud, five counts of credit card forgery and conspiracy.
"They were identified as possibly having an opportunity to get this card," said Capt. Billy Bowler, criminal investigations commander of the Stafford County Sheriff's Office. "Follow-ups at the places the card was used led to witnesses and video surveillance."
A trial date has been set for July 28.
Who should pay?Credit card fraud is ranked as the No. 1 type of identity theft in Virginia.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, Virginians reported 1,636 cases of credit card fraud in 2003. That figure accounts for 38 percent of all 4,297 identity theft complaints statewide.
Robert McKinley, chief executive of CardWeb.com, which tracks the credit and debit card industry, said credit card companies should handle these kinds of situations.
"They can usually recover some of the fraudulent charges from the merchants where the card was used," McKinley said. "If the cardholder did not properly report it or has a history of losing their card, then the card company might balk."
While federal law protects victims of credit card fraud, Fitzgerald's case doesn't meet the requirements for a federal investigation.
"For federal involvement, it depends on the the number of accounts accessed and the dollar amount," said Matthew McNalley, assistant special agent in charge of the Secret Services' field office in Richmond. He said the state should handle it.
Ken Schrad, spokesman for the Virginia State Corporation Commission's Bureau of Insurance, said that since the bank involved is a federal bank, the state has no jurisdiction.
"The state only has authority over state-chartered institutions," he said.
The Marine Federal Credit Union declined to discuss its credit card policies with The Free Lance-Star and did not return repeated phone calls seeking comment.
As for Chili's, McNalley said the chain is not entirely responsible.
"There may be some civil liability there for the actions of their employee," he said, "but not criminal."
What does the law say?The amount the card holder is liable for depends on several factors.
If a lost or stolen credit card is reported before it is used, the Fair Credit Billing Act says the card issuer cannot hold the cardholder responsible for any unauthorized charges.
If a thief uses a credit card before it is reported missing, the most the cardholder will owe is $50 per credit card. Also, if the loss involves the credit card number, but not the card itself, the cardholder has no liability for unauthorized use.
ATM and debit cards are protected under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act.
If an ATM or debit card is reported missing before it has been used, the cardholder cannot be held responsible. If it has, the cardholder's liability depends on how quickly the loss was reported.
For example, if a card is not reported within two business days after the card is considered missing, the cardholder could lose up to $500.
If a cardholder fails to report an unauthorized transfer within 60 days after receiving their bank statement containing unauthorized use, they run the risk of unlimited loss.
However, for unauthorized transfers involving only the debit card number, and not the loss of the card, the cardholder is liable only for transfers that occur after 60 days following the mailing of their bank statement containing the unauthorized use and before you report the loss.
If unauthorized transfers show up on a bank statement, the FTC says to report them to the card issuer as quickly as possible. Once the loss of the ATM or debit card is reported, the cardholder cannot be held liable for additional unauthorized transfers that occur after that time.
Fitzgerald is not sure what he's liable for. His bank told him he has to fill out more paperwork before his account can be cleared of the fraudulent charges.
Lessons learnedIn the meantime, Fitzgerald said he's more cautious with his credit card.
He makes sure he gets the card back from a waiter and said if it is ever misplaced again, he will immediately cancel it.
He is still working with his bank to get the charges removed. "This situation could have been avoided if I had just canceled my card right away and had I not trusted that my card was secure," he said.
To reach PORTSIA SMITH: 540/374-5419 psmith@freelancestar.com