The FTC reports that in 2020, credit card fraud increased 43%.

• This petition is to support legislation which will make the theft of a credit card an automatic felony which can not be reduced to a misdemeanor, nor sealed from a background check.
• The following is a TRUE STORY about how my credit card was stolen, and how the justice system failed to hold the criminal accountable…NO fine, NO probation, No community service.
• On 06/09/2021, Steven Livesay,  a personal assistant I hired, was arrested (NYPD Arrest # M21617225 ) for stealing my American Express card. Not only did he steal my credit card, he assumed my identity and forged my signature 24 times at 22 different retail stores around Manhattan. 
• There was a plethora of evidence that proved his guilt.
• First, he admitted to the crime in an audiotaped confession.
• Second, he sent two video SMS confessions to my phone.
• Third, a handwritten confession admitting he stole my card.  
•  Yet everywhere I turned with this evidence, nobody seemed concerned. American Express said, “We don't arrest people; that is the job of law enforcement."  The NYPD replied, "American Express refunded you your money; no crime has been committed!" They were incorrect. Crimes of Grand Larceny, Identity Theft, and Forgery were committed.
• So I contacted the Manhattan District Attorney and sent them the evidence.   They concluded there was enough evidence of probable cause for an arrest and referred the case back to the  NYPD, to take a criminal complaint. The NYPD issued an arrest warrant, and the credit card thief was arrested and charged with NYPL  § 155.30  (4) Grand Larceny in the fourth degree but they forgot to include the 24 counts of NYPL  §170.10(1)  Forgery in the Second Degree.
• Due to the backlog of criminal cases from the COVID Pandemic, the priority of the Manhattan DA shifted from “ serve and protect" to "clear and eliminate"... the piles of folders of criminal cases on their desks which accumulated during the pandemic shut down and did not prosecute non-violent felonies during the pandemic.
• Despite the criminal confessing to the theft, the Manhattan District Attorney reduced the two felony charges to a misdemeanor. Then gave him a plea deal customarily reserved for first-time, misdemeanor offenses such as shop-lifting or turnstile jumping, called an Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal (ACD). In order to qualify for the ACD, you need to reduce the felony charges to misdemeanors. Wait, he admitted he was guilty. He confessed to stealing the credit card; what is the plea deal for?
• There is a significant difference between freeing the guilty who were NOT proven “guilty beyond a reasonable doubt” and letting criminals like Mr. Livesay escape justice because prosecutors lack the time or resources to prepare their cases properly! 
• The judge let a self-confessed credit card thief, who was guilty of grand larceny and 24 counts of forgery,  walk away with the following punishment:  NO fine, | NO restitution to the retailers, | NO  community service, | NO probation, | and his court records were sealed.  
• The reason credit card fraud increased 43% in 2020 is because of cases similar to this, where the justice system is NOT  tough on Credit Card Fraud. A 43-year-old credit card thief should NOT be given the same plea deal offered to a teenage subway turnstile jumper.
• Laws are meaningless if they are not enforced. The credit card companies write off the losses as a tax deduction and the consumers ultimately pay the costs via increased prices. 
• THIS NEEDS TO CHANGE.  That is the purpose of this petition. Nobody should be allowed to steal your credit card, assume your identity,  forge your signature, then walk out of court with NO fine, NO probation, NO restitution, NO community service, AND as a reward, have their criminal record sealed.
• We need to get tough on credit card fraud! 
• WELCOME TO THE POST-PANDEMIC JUSTICE SYSTEM!