Huntington residents Karan Geist, 61, and her daughter Alyssa Geist, 33, appeared in Manhattan Supreme Court on Friday and pleaded not guilty to the list of charges against them.
The mother and daughter duo have allegedly scammed banks out of $850,000 for purchases of designer clothes and luxurious travel and vacations.
"This is a 13-year scheme that involved thousands of credit card transactions whereby Karen falsely reported -- even though she incurred legitimate charges -- as fraudulent," said Assistant District Attorney Catherine McCaw.The purchases Geist disputed were both extravagant and mundane, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. In one instance, Geist disputed a charge from a veterinary bill for treatment for her dogs, Louis and Daisy, despite her name being listed on the receipt.
Prosecutors said many of the disputes were related to travel. Geist would dispute airline tickets, rental cars and hotel stays even though the trips and services were booked in either her name or her family member’s names.
“In certain instances, Karan disputed as fraud charges related to airline tickets, even though records from the United States Customs and Border Protection show that Karan and her family members were on board these transatlantic flights,” prosecutors said.
Geist’s daughter, 33-year-old Alyssa Geist, was allegedly recruited by her mother to learn the scheme so she could replicate it.
“In one instance on January 14, 2017, Alyssa placed a purchase for approximately $1,400 using her mother’s credit card, following her mother’s specific instructions as to which name, telephone number, and mailing address to us,” court documents read. “The charge was subsequently disputed.”
Alyssa also allegedly reached out to her mom while traveling with friends in Montreal and texted her mom about how to dispute charges. Her mom responded with advice and the trip was later disputed.
The NYPD raided Geist’s Huntington home where they found 100 credit cards and items they believe to have been falsely claimed as not having been purchased.
The Geists were let go on supervised release after their hearing in Manhattan on Friday but their passports were ordered confiscated.