BUCKHANNON – An Upshur County man who allegedly found a lost debit card in the Sheetz parking lot and used it to buy milkshakes and send himself money via Facebook Pay – but later apologized to the victim – was arrested Friday.
Trey Johnson, 25, of Buckhannon, was arrested on five counts of fraudulent use of an access device.
According to the criminal complaint in the Upshur County Magistrate Clerk’s Office filed by Patrolman First Class Angel McCauley, the incident occurred late last year.
The police report says that on Dec. 15, 2022, the victim came into the Buckhannon Police Department to report that Johnson had allegedly used her bank card several times without her permission. She told police she’d accidentally dropped her bank card while getting gas at Sheetz on Dec. 13, 2022.
“She stated she did not realize she dropped her card until the next day when she attempted to get Arby’s,” the report states.
The victim subsequently received a fraud alert but did not realize money had actually been debited from her account until the evening of Dec. 14, 2022, the file says.
Johnson allegedly bought milkshakes from Sheetz, paying a total of $8.01 with the card and then attempted to remove $200 from the victim’s account; however, that withdrawal was declined.
“Trey then sent $100 and another $50 to himself [via] Facebook pay,” McCauley wrote in the complaint. He also allegedly attempted to purchase a Google product for $11.76, but that transaction was declined.
The victim told police that at that point, Johnson messaged her via Facebook “stating her found her card and used it,” according to the file. “He also apologized for taking her money.”
McCauley concluded there were a total of five attempted and/or completed transactions, totaling $158.01. The victim provided police with the social media messages and her bank statement, which allegedly confirmed the attempted or completed transactions, according to the file.
Upshur County Magistrate Mark Davis set bail at $25,000 cash or surety and as of Tuesday, Jan. 17, Johnson was no longer listed as incarcerated, according to the West Virginia Division of Corrections & Rehabilitation website.
The penalty for a conviction on each count of use of a fraudulent access device is a fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment in the state penitentiary for up to 10 years or both.
