An Ocala man was arrested Thursday afternoon after his mother said he withdrew money and made a fraudulent charge on her credit card.
Andrew Sanford Welch, 31, was arrested by Marion County Sheriff’s deputies and charged with fraudulent use of a credit card, fraudulent impersonation of another person and petit theft in the first degree. He was booked into the Marion County Jail on $5,000 bond.
According to the arrest report, Welch admitted to taking his mother’s credit card without her permission while she was hospitalized. Welch said he made withdrawals from his mother’s account at a BP gas station and a Publix grocery store, the report says.
When asked why he withdrew money instead of just using the card at the businesses, Welch said “cash was easier,” the report states.
A short time later, Welch’s mother signed onto her bank account online and showed a deputy the fraudulent charges. In addition to the cash withdrawals, which included a third transaction of $42.75, there was a charge of $5.11 for cigarettes. Welch added that he used the money to purchase pizza and drugs, the report says.
All told, the fraudulent charges on Welch’s mother’s account came to $133.60, the report said. In addition, the victim said she incurred overdraft charges of $128 and wanted to pursue charges against her son.