Legal Question in Criminal Law in Minnesota

Re: use of company credit card in my name

I would need additional information to provide you with a more complete and accurate response. Was there an employee manual, for example, or any correspondence concerning the use of the card or of company property? Who gets the bill for the card? Were you ever required to reimburse the company for personal charges? Did you have to provide the company with receipts for all charges? How did you account for charges on the card? How long did you have the card? Etc.

As a general matter, if you are only an "authorized user" and not the owner of the card, you have no authority to use the card after your employment is terminated. This presumes, of course, that the credit line was issued to the company, and that it pays the bills. It really does not matter what a program coordinator told you about the use or possession of the card; he may not know anything more about this than you do, and possibly less.

I imagine that if you use the card, you will be asked to account for any charges promptly and pay the company back. If you fail to do so, (and even if you do offer to pay the money back) this could result in criminal charges, particularly if the charges are in excess of $250. I recently had a similar case in which a former employee was charged with felony theft for the use of company credit following the termination of his employment. He is now discovering that the felony charge has rendered him virtually unemployable (he was a former comptroller) -- even though the amount at issue was less than $1,000.

You would be foolish to keep the card following the termination of your employment -- if it belongs to your employer, regardless of who's name appears on the face of the card. I would consider this an invitation for trouble.

Good luck.