In Commonwealth v. Ballard, the defendant was found in possession of multiple credit cards that were alleged to be fraudulent because the information contained in the magnetic strips did not match the names and numbers imprinted on the cards themselves. After a bench trial, the defendant was convicted of access device fraud and identity theft. The Pennsylvania Superior Court found the evidence sufficient to support the access device fraud conviction; in so doing, the Court rejected the defendant’s claim that the Commonwealth must establish that the cards could have actually been used instead of just being designed for use. The Court found the evidence insufficient to prove identity theft because the Commonwealth never established that the names imprinted on the cards corresponded to actual people.
