Rosemount Man Sentenced to 15 Days for Credit Card Fraud

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A Rosemount man has been sentenced for a 2011 crime in which he used a woman's credit card to buy beef jerky at Walmart.

Joshua Thomas Mullin, 24, previously appeared on Apple Valley-Rosemount Patch after he was arrested for biting his girlfriend. On Feb. 10, he will finish his sentence for wracking up more than $300 of charges on a woman's credit card. 

On Dec. 22, 2011, a woman contacted the Rosemount Burger King after noticing an unauthorized transaction on her credit account. She said $257.10 had been charged to her credit card at the Burger King that same day at 12:59 p.m. In turn, the owner called the police.

According to the original criminal complaint, the Rosemount PD was able to obtain a surveillance video from the fast food establishment, showing an employee swiping a card which corresponded with the date and time of the unauthorized transaction. The employee was identified as Mullin. As the case progressed, the victim discovered other miscellaneous charges on her card from the day prior: $3.92 at the Walmart in Apple Valley, $1 at a Holiday gas station and four other charges at the Burger King (two for one cent, and two for $74.99).

During an interview with Rosemount detectives, Mullin claimed that a male friend asked him to use the credit card that had a woman's name on it. The man, who Mullin refused to name, asked him use the card at Walmart to buy beef jerky. The next day, the friend asked him to use it to get money from the restaurant where he worked.

On the man's advice, Mullin said, he charged one cent to the card to see if it worked. He then charged $74.99 to the account, Mullin said, but his friend changed his mind and Mullin canceled the transaction. Mullin claimed that later the same person asked him to get $250 out with the card, but again backed out last minute. Mullin said he never took the money out of the register or safe.

Mullin was charged with financial transaction card fraud, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and $10,000 in fines. He pleaded guilty to the charges on Oct. 23, 2012. Judge David Knutson sentenced him to five years of probation and 15 days in jail starting Feb. 1. He was also ordered to pay $590 in fines and fees, as well as restitution to the victim.