{"id":1194878,"date":"2022-08-30T15:25:23","date_gmt":"2022-08-30T15:25:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/08\/30\/long-island-mother-daughter-duo-conned-850k-in-credit-card-scam\/"},"modified":"2022-08-30T15:25:23","modified_gmt":"2022-08-30T15:25:23","slug":"long-island-mother-daughter-duo-conned-850k-in-credit-card-scam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/08\/30\/long-island-mother-daughter-duo-conned-850k-in-credit-card-scam\/","title":{"rendered":"Long Island Mother-Daughter Duo Conned $850K In Credit Card Scam"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

A Long Island mother and daughter duo conned nearly $1 million from over a dozen different credit card companies for more than a decade, funding a lavish lifestyle of designer clothing and jet-setting vacations across the globe.<\/p>\n

Karan Geist, 61, and her daughter Alyssa Geist, 33, pleaded not guilty on Friday to a series of charges including fraud and grand larceny, according to an indictment obtained by the New York Post<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors at Manhattan Supreme Court claim that between 2008 and 2021, Karan falsely disputed $850,000 in charges from at least 14 different banks and credit card companies.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThis is a 13-year scheme that involved thousands of credit card transactions whereby Karan falsely reported \u2014 even though she incurred legitimate charges \u2014 as fraudulent,\u201d said Assistant District Attorney Catherine McCaw during the hearing.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Charges \u201cRanged From Luxurious To Mundane,\u201d Prosecutors Allege<\/h3>\n

Assistant District Attorney Catherine McCaw told Justice Laura Ward that the purchases \u201cranged in nature from the luxurious to the mundane,\u201d and funded trips to \u201cexotic destinations including Paris, Milan, Norway, Costa Rica, Hawaii and a number of other places.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

NY mother and daughter ran credit card charge scam to fund lavish lifestyle: indictment: Karan Geist and her daughter Alyssa Geist appeared in Manhattan Supreme Court on Friday and pleaded not guilty to the slew of charges against them, including grand\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/hReTgKiGFM pic.twitter.com\/SMYHgHKwU3<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 \ud835\udc13\ud835\udc21\ud835\udc1e \ud835\udc12\ud835\udc2e\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc03\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc2c\ud835\udc29\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc1c\ud835\udc21 \ud835\udc0d\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc30\ud835\udc2c \ud83d\udea8 (@SunDispatch) August 29, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

\u201cThese purchases ranged in nature from the luxurious to the mundane,\u201d according to District Attorney Alvin Bragg\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn numerous occasions, Karan booked travel both for foreign and domestic to exotic destinations including Paris, Milan, Norway, Costa Rica, Hawaii and a number of other places.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The pair also went on shopping sprees at luxury outfitters Bloomingdale\u2019s and Bergdorf Goodman.<\/p>\n

Duo Falsely Reported Charges As Fraudulent To Obtain Refunds From Banks, Credit Card Companies<\/h3>\n

The Post reports that Karan, a former paraprofessional at a middle school on Long Island, received credit on her balances after falsely reporting fraudulent charges to banks and credit card companies, including $205,000 on her American Express cards and $155,000 from Chase Bank.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cShe booked tickets in her own name, car rentals in her family member\u2019s name, hotel stays in her own name, and other luxurious purchases like watches and handbags while she was traveling,\u201d McCaw said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

She reportedly even disputed small charges, such as purchases at the Dollar Store and veterinary bills for her dogs Daisy and Louis.<\/p>\n

Karan, who lost her job in November 2016 per New York Board of Education records, eventually brought her daughter into the fraud scheme, who prosecutors claim took part in for about six months.<\/p>\n

(Photo by Thomas Trutschel\/Photothek via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Police Find Over 100 Credit Cards, Receipts For \u201cFraudulent\u201d Transactions During Raid<\/h3>\n

In 2016, Barclays Bank obtained surveillance video of the two purchasing items at a Chanel store after they reported it as a fraudulent charge, according to the Post.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, prosecutors said that Alyssa allegedly charged $1,400 to one of her mother\u2019s credit cards in July 2017, and disputed the charge for a full refund per her mom\u2019s instructions.<\/p>\n

A month later in August 2017, Alyssa reportedly texted her mother about how to go about falsely disputing the charges as fraudulent.\u00a0According to Alyssa\u2019s Zeta Sigma Phi sorority bio, she has \u201ca shopping addiction\/semi problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, authorities raided Karan\u2019s Huntington home and located over 100 credit cards used in the purchases alongside receipts for transactions that she had later reported as fraud.<\/p>\n

During Friday\u2019s hearing, the pair were forced to give up their passports as a part of their supervised release.<\/p>\n

Neither Mother Nor Daughter Offer Any Comment On $850,000 Fraud Scheme<\/h3>\n

Neither Karan or Alyssa offered any comment when asked by the Post for comment as they left court.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cMy only comment [is] she is not guilty. She is completely innocent here and it will come out in the end,\u201d said Alyssa\u2019s attorney James\u00a0Pascarella.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

A lawyer for Karan did not immediately return a request for comment.<\/p>\n

The mother-daughter duo are due back in court September 14, according to the Post.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n