DA: Long Island mother, daughter accused in $850G credit card scam

A Long Island woman allegedly scammed credit card companies by disputing purchases on her way to a “lavish lifestyle” and later taught her daughter the method, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

Now, Karan Geist and daughter Alyssa Geist both face felony grand larceny counts in a scheme that began in 2008 and ended last year with credit card companies bilked of $850,000, according to court records.

Karan Geist faces one count of third-degree grand larceny, two counts of second-degree grand larceny and first-degree scheme to defraud, record records show.

Alyssa Geist faces one count of fourth-degree grand larceny and one count of first-degree scheme to defraud, according to court records.

They were arrested Friday and pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to court records.

From March 2008 to May 2021, Karan Geist got credit cards from companies that included Chase and American Express, in her name, variations of her name, and names of other family members, according to a statement of facts in court papers.

Additionally, she used 20 different email addresses that didn’t match up with her credit card accounts, according to court records.

After purchasing sunglasses, groceries and paying veterinary bills, she would “falsely report all of those charges as a fraud on her credit cards, falsely insisting that the charges had not been incurred or authorized by her,” according to court documents.

Geist taught her daughter to “perpetrate the scheme,” court documents said. Alyssa Geist made a $1,400 purchase on Jan. 14, 2017, with her mom’s credit card following “specific instructions as to which name, telephone number and mailing address to use,” the records said.

“The charge was subsequently disputed,” the court documents said.

In August 2017, while Alyssa Geist was on a trip with friends in Montreal, she texted her mom for advice how to dispute a charge as fraudulent, according to court documents.

“Karan responded with advice regarding the types of charges that Alyssa could successfully dispute and which transactions to avoid,” the court documents read. “Charges relating to the trip were subsequently disputed on a different credit card.”

Karan Geist's lawyer, James R. Froccaro of Port Washington, declined to comment Tuesday night. Alyssa Geist’s lawyer, James A. Pascarella, of Mineola, could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday night.

On American Express cards, Karen Geist falsely reported more than $205,000 worth of fraudulent charges and reported $155,000 in Chase cards, according to court records.

Eventually, “documentary evidence” showed Karan Geist made the purchases herself, according to court documents.

She disputed a bill from a veterinarian, which was near her home, and lists her name on the bill and the names of her two dogs, according to court documents.

In another instance, she disputed airline ticket purchases “even though records from the United States Customs and Border Protection show that Karan and her family members were on board these transatlantic flights,” according to court records.

Through a search warrant, the NYPD went to Karan Geist’s home and found more than 100 credit cards, along with items fraudulently purchased, according to court documents.