Woman admits to credit card theft to buy jewelry

A Whitefish woman has admitted to stealing credit cards to buy thousands of dollars worth of jewelry.

Carol Rockafellow, 47, pleaded guilty Feb. 19 in Flathead County District Court to felony charges of deceptive practice with credit cards. She previously denied the charges.

According to court documents, two guests at The Lodge at Whitefish Lake were returning from a walk Oct. 9, 2014 when they noticed a housekeeper leaving their room in a hasty and suspicious manner.

One of the guests noticed her credit card missing and the other later reported fraudulent charges to her credit card.

During investigations, Whitefish police found the cards were used at a jewelry shop in Kalispell. Fraudulent charges on both cards totaled about $2,716.

Rockafellow was taken into custody Oct. 23 when she returned to the store to pick up the jewelry. After being questioned by police, she allegedly admitted to stealing both credit cards and using them.

Rockafellow faces 10 years in state prison and a maximum fine of $50,000.

Sentencing is set for April 16.