Area woman used lost debit card

A Snowmass Village woman was arrested last week by Aspen police on suspicion of using a 15-year-old boy’s lost debit card and making numerous purchases.

Kadia K. Gray, 20, was arrested Thursday morning at her residence at the Westin Snowmass Resort. She was released later in the day on $1,000 bond. Police records show that she was employed at the Westin and also McDonald’s restaurant in Aspen at the time of the arrest.

According to a written statement by Aspen policeman Jeff Fain, a woman contacted police July 15 concerning a possible fraud. Fain met the woman and her teenage son and learned that he had lost his wallet containing a Wells Fargo debit card somewhere in downtown Aspen on July 8. He only carried the card in case of emergencies, his mother told police.

The teen’s mother checked the account and discovered several unauthorized purchases between July 8 and July 12, Fain’s statement said. Two were charged on the website eBay.com for a Toshiba laptop computer and a pair of suede boots for a combined $327.

Gray allegedly created a special PayPal purchasing account to access the eBay items. The shipping orders indicate that she had the laptop sent to her residence at the Westin and the boots mailed to a post office box in Snowmass Village, Fain wrote.

There were other unauthorized charges, including seven purchases at McDonald’s and two bus-pass purchases at the Rubey Park bus station. The total amount of the charges on the teen’s card was $419.55, Fain’s statement said.

According to the statement, Gray admitted to Fain that she had found the wallet while cleaning up the dining room of McDonald’s and used it for the eBay, McDonald’s and Roaring Fork Transportation Authority bus-pass purchases.

She also allegedly admitted that she created a PayPal account using her personal email address and added the lost debit-card number to the account.

Gray faces four misdemeanor charges and is scheduled to appear in Pitkin County Court on Sept. 2.

andre@aspentimes.com