Published: May 30, 2008 02:44 pm      

Courtney Gay is sentenced in credit card fraud

CLINTON — A Clinton woman jailed after using a credit card number stolen from a past employer to pay for court costs and automobile repairs, has received a suspended prison sentence.

Courtney L. Gay, 26, 1807 N. Third St., was arrested in April and charged with credit card fraud, identity theft and violation of probation.

According to court documents, Gay began employment at The Scotts Co. in Morrison, Ill., in April 2007 and was responsible for reconciling business acc-ounts, checking receipts for accounts payable and data entry. A supervisor at the company stated Gay had access to two company credit cards, but had no authorization to use them.

Documents state that after Gay was terminated from The Scotts Co. in November, company officials discovered she had made several unauthorized payments using a company credit card during her employment. On Aug. 27, and Nov. 12, Gay allegedly used the stolen credit card number to pay three court fines totaling $696 associated with three past criminal cases.

Gay had pleaded guilty to second-degree theft in January and was sentenced to three years probation, and had a deferred judgment on a forgery charge after allegedly forging and depositing checks stolen from her mother’s checkbook.

Gay was also accused of using the stolen credit card number to pay for $503.35 in vehicle repairs at McEleney AutoCenter in October.

On May 22, Gay pleaded guilty to the lesser included offense of credit card fraud and Clinton County District Court Judge Marlita Greve sentenced Gay to serve a term not to exceed two years in the Iowa Department of Corrections and she was given credit for time served. Greve suspended the sentence and placed Gay on supervised probation through the Seventh Judicial District Department of Corrections. She was fined $625 and ordered to pay victim restitution.

Gay also pleaded guilty to a probation violation and Greve modified the probation by placing Gay in the Violators Program, sending her to the Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Oakdale. Gay was placed on probation after being charged with forgery and second degree theft in August 2006.