Osage man sentenced in Charles City credit card theft case

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

A 19-year-old Osage man was given a suspended prison sentence last week after pleading guilty to a reduced charge of credit card fraud in Floyd County District Court.

Joseph Michael Holzer was sentenced to up to two years in prison, suspended, a $625 fine plus 35% surcharge, both suspended, and ordered to be placed on probation for two years by District Court Judge Peter Newell.

He was also ordered to pay $2,000 restitution to First Citizens Bank.

Holzer was originally charged with credit card fraud, a Class D felony, for allegedly using a woman’s credit card without permission to make 10 unauthorized withdrawals of $200 each from ATM machines at First Citizens Bank and the two Kwik Star locations in Charles City, between March 6 and April 2, 2019.

The criminal complaint filed in court said he was recorded on video cameras making the withdrawals.

He was arrested on May 1, 2019, in Osage.

The charge was reduced to forgery by unauthorized use of credit card, an aggravated misdemeanor, as part of the agreement to plead guilty.

Holzer had been on probation for pleading guilty to a charge of criminal mischief in the third degree for destroying property by driving down a grass lane in Floyd in a four-wheel-drive vehicle, tearing up the grass, in September 2018.

A deferred sentence Holzer had received in that case was revoked and the original sentence of two years in prison, suspended, and two years probation was ordered to be served concurrently with the forgery sentence.