A Cottonwood County woman has been charged with felony financial transaction card fraud after allegedly making unauthorized purchases on a credit card belonging to a vulnerable adult.
According to a complaint filed in Cottonwood County District Court, Patricia Holtz, 46, of Bingham Lake, is accused of using her brother’s credit card without permission to make multiple purchases totaling nearly $1,300 over two separate periods between Sept. 2023 and Sept. 2024.
The case came to light when a Cottonwood County sheriff’s department investigator received a report from the Minnesota Adult Abuse Report Center on Oct. 28, 2024. The report identified the defendant’s brother as the victim and Holtz as the alleged perpetrator.
The complaint stated that the victim, a vulnerable adult living in Windom, informed investigators that he discovered unauthorized charges on his Capital One credit card.
He stated that Holtz had helped him apply for the card using her phone but had never given him access to account statements. The victim typically paid the card’s balance by check under Holtz’s instruction.
The complaint said investigators obtained credit card statements showing transactions at various retailers, including Barnes & Noble, Walmart.com, Amazon, Temu and Maurices. The fraudulent purchases ranged from small online orders to a $200 payment to South Central Electric.
According to the complaint investigators interviewed Holtz at her residence on Dec. 16, 2024. She admitted to making purchases on Amazon, Temu, and Maurices without Meier’s permission. However, she claimed she had authorization for charges at Threads & Decor, Barnes & Noble, and South Central Electric. She acknowledged that she “should not have done so.”
Holtz has been charged with two counts of felony financial transaction card fraud. If convicted of both charges, she faces up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.
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