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Highlands Today

Man Uses Bogus Credit Card To Pay For Funeral

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By Joe  Seelig | Highlands Today

Published: January 29, 2008

SEBRING — A Sebring man, who reportedly paid for his friend's funeral with a bogus credit card, remained in Highlands County Jail in lieu of $113,000 bail Tuesday, involving a case of identity theft.

Jeffrey Alan Hornsby, 44, of 311 Swallow Ave., Sebring, was booked on charges of grand theft $20,000 or more, but less than $100,000, fraud-swindle to obtain property $20,000 or more but less than $50,000, fraud impersonation using the identification of another without consent $5,000 or more, fraud-illegal use of a credit card more than two times in six months to obtain goods or money, forgery of or altering a public record certificate and fraud uttering a false instrument.

According to the arrest report, on Feb. 1, 2007, the 68-year-old victim in whose name a Platinum Visa business credit card was obtained from the Bank of America, reported it had been done without his authorization.

The victim supplied investigators with a copy of the application, which listed the business name as Chef's Delight Catering, the report stated.

The application listed Hornsby and a Eugene Piotrowski as additional card holders. The signature block on the application had the victim's signature, however, the victim said he never signed it.

On April 20, 2006, Eugene Piotrowski was killed in a motor vehicle accident. The Stephenson-Nelson Funeral Home in Avon Park was contacted and on June 6, 2006, it was paid by credit card in the amount of $3,604, reportedly by Hornsby.

"It was a Catholic service," said Mike Adams, with Stephenson-Nelson. "He had first tried to pay us with a signed check on Eugene Piotrowski's account and, of course, we could not accept that because Mr. Piotrowski's account was closed at his death.

"That's when he whipped out the credit card."

Why would he pay for this man's funeral? They were not blood relations, according to the Highlands County Sheriff's Lt. Tim Lethbridge.

"They were friends," Lethbridge said.

Adams classified them as very good friends, when he was asked. Piotrowski was 40 years old.

Adams recalled he walked Hornsby and his sister to the casket, on the day of the funeral. He identified Hornsby for sheriff's investigators from a photo lineup as the person he escorted.

The credit card was used 83 times from June 9, 2006 to Aug. 8, 2006, to make charges and cash withdrawals from Wal-Mart, Bank of America including a $7,000 cash withdrawal, Duffer's Sports Grille, Shell Oil, Hibbett Sports, Belk department store, Chili's Grill, FYE, Kmart, the funeral home, Winn-Dixie, Taco Bell, and Hertz, to name a few.

It was unclear from the report how high the limit on the business credit card was.

"Chef's Delight Catering was a business Mr. Hornsby intended to start but, according to the Better Business Bureau, never got off the ground," Lethbridge said.

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