Valley man sentenced for card fraud

By Michelle Bundy

November 29, 2004 | Thein Quoc Tran Ha, 25, of Salt Lake City, was sentenced to one year in jail and $1,229 restitution on Monday in 1st District Court. He pleaded guilty to unlawful use of a financial card, a Class A misdemeanor.

According to Judge Clint Judkins, Ha "knowingly" used the card which was "not authorized by the card holder" with fraudulent intent. Ha used the card while he was on parole, after serving time for forgery and possession of a controlled substance.

He has been incarcerated in the Utah State Penitentiary since Sept. 3. His public defender, David Perry, asked that Ha receive credit for time served in prison since September. Judkins denied the request because that time was "part of the original violation" as it related to Ha's parole violation. Ha will serve his time in the Utah State Penitentiary instead of the Cache County Jail, by his request.

NW