A New York mother-daughter duo allegedly teamed up to con credit card companies by falsely reporting charges as fraud. The pair were indicted for a more than decade-long scheme in which they allegedly used credit card fraud to fund vacations and designer clothing purchases.
Karan Geist, 61, and her 33-year-old daughter, Alyssa Geist, appeared in Manhattan Supreme Court on Friday, August 26, 2022. The charges against them were numerous and included grand larceny and fraud. Both women pleaded not guilty.
Assistant District Attorney Catherine McCaw stated during the hearing: “This is a 13-year scheme that involved thousands of credit card transactions whereby Karan falsely reported — even though she incurred legitimate charges — as fraudulent.” Karan is accused of falsely reporting $850,000 worth of charges with 14 different credit card companies between the years of 2008 and 2021 as fraudulent.
The office of District Attorney Alvin Bragg stated, “These purchases ranged in nature from the luxurious to the mundane.” McCaw added, “On 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.”
After allegedly reporting the legitimate charges as fraud, Karan would receive credit back on her accounts. She received $205,000 back on her American Express cards. She received $155,000 back on her Chase card.
Karen previously worked as a paraprofessional at Elwood Middle School. She lost this job in November 2016. Karan resides in Huntington, New York.
During her vacations, Karan would also make purchases. McCaw states, “She booked tickets in her own name, car rentals in her family member’s name, hotel stays in her own name, and other luxurious purchases like watches and handbags while she was traveling.” These would all eventually be falsely reported as fraudulent.
Karan did not stop at just vacation purchases. She also charged everyday expenses on her credit cards. These included Dollar Store purchases and vet bills for her dogs, Louis and Daisy.
Karan also paid for more fun purchases on her credit cards. She went on shopping sprees. She shopped at places such as Bloomingdale’s and Bergdorf Goodman.
Karan eventually made it a family affair and got daughter Alyssa involved. Alyssa was previously employed as a teacher in New York. She left teaching in 2015 to start her own company called Tutorologie. This company provides tutoring services to children. She allegedly worked with her mom committing credit card fraud for six months.
As part of their evidence, prosecutors obtained surveillance footage from Barclays Bank. Barclays Bank’s footage of Karan and Alyssa show the pair making purchases at a Chanel store that they later reported as being fraudulent. This incident allegedly occurred in 2016.
Prosecutors also have text messages between the mother and daughter to use as evidence. Alyssa allegedly asked her mother for advice on how to dispute charges on her credit cards. When attending St. Joseph’s University, Alyssa described herself as having a “shopping addiction/semi problem.”
There is more evidence against the pair. A police raid conducted in 2021 found over 100 credit cards. They also found receipts for the supposedly fraudulent purchases.
The woman declined to comment after the hearing. They are out on supervised release but were ordered to turn over their passports. James Pascarella, Alyssa’s lawyer, stated: “My only comment [is] she is not guilty. She is completely innocent here and it will come out in the end.”
