Apple Valley Woman Allegedly Uses Stolen Credit Card Info to Make Car Loan Payment

An Apple Valley woman faces felony charges after police say she allegedly stole credit card information and used it to make a car loan payment.

Rhonda Michelle Mitchell, 39, of , is charged in Dakota County with one count of identity theft and one count of financial transaction card fraud, both felonies.

The maximum combined penalty for the two charges is 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, Mitchell was employed temporarily at an Eagan financial marketing company, from Dec. 5-23, 2011, where she took payments over the phone as a collections representative.

On Dec. 21, Mitchell allegedly helped an out-of-state customer make a payment over the phone and in the process obtained the credit card number, expiration date and security code from the card.

On Jan. 6, a payment to an auto loan company in New Hope for $905.50 was made on the customer's card, the complaint says; a witness from the loan company allegedly told police Mitchell had made the transaction. The complaint says the customer had no other connection to Minnesota.

Mitchell allegedly told police that she had a car loan with that company and was behind in her payments, but that a friend made the unauthorized transaction.

Police told Mitchell the only way someone could have obtained the card information was to get it from the alleged victim, the complaint says.