Man arrested for using dead grandma's credit card

PROVO — Police arrested a man who they say bought gas with a credit card sent to his deceased grandmother's estate.

The man, 32, was picking up mail at his parent's Pleasant Grove house while they were out of town, and police said he intercepted the credit card that was mailed from a Pleasant Grove bank.

The father, and estate executor, didn't know what had happened to the card, but told police he suspected his son, who has had financial problems in the past, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in 4th District Court.

During the first interview with the man, he denied knowing anything about it. Police asked if anyone else at his parent's house could have taken it while they were away, and the man said no.

The man's sister told police they were going to get a locking mailbox to avoid things like this in the future. When police asked who normally picked up the mail, she told them it was her brother, the man in question.

Police said they later got a call from the man's father, who said that his son had come to him with the card and allegedly confessed to taking it and using it.

After talking to the man Thursday, police said he confessed to taking the card because he was "flat broke." He said he only meant to use it once to buy gas, but then kept using it, hitting gas stations in Springville, Lehi, Pleasant Grove and Orem.

The man was arrested and booked into jail for investigation of unlawful acquisition and unlawfully obtaining property. He was released on his own recognizance by a judge Friday morning.