California woman faces fraud charges

SANDPOINT — A California woman is facing multiple charges for a purchase made on her date’s bank card on March 5.

Nathalie Jane Guasis, 25, is facing felony charges of burglary and using a financial transaction card with intent to defraud. She is also facing a misdemeanor charge for providing false identification to law enforcement.

First District Magistrate Judge Justin Julian continued Guasis’ preliminary hearing, as she is seeking private legal representation.

On March 4, Guasis stayed at Schweitzer Mountain Resort with a date she had met on the popular mobile dating app, Tindr.

The next day, the man took a skiing lesson on the mountain without Guasis. While on the mountain, he received a text message alert from his bank to an $809.89 charge at Schweitzer Mountain LLC. The man called Schweitzer Mountain Security seeking their assistance.

Security personnel were able to identify the retailer, along with security camera footage matching the time he received the purchase alert.

According to court documents, the man positively identified Guasis on the security footage. According to court records, Guasis is depicted on camera showing the cashier a photo on her cellphone before the transaction was completed.

“The video shows Guasis handing her phone to the store cashier who views an image on the phone. Guasis then walks out of the store with multiple clothing items,” read the probable cause affidavit filed on March 7.

Guasis’ date told law enforcement she may have taken a photo of his credit card while he was sleeping in the hotel room they shared at the resort, according to the affidavit.

The date called Guasis and asked her to meet him at the resort’s ticket booth.

Guasis arrived in a Range Rover, but upon seeing law enforcement from a distance, she instead fled the mountain in the rented vehicle.

Bonner County Sheriff’s deputies pulled Guasis over on Woodland Drive in Sandpoint, approximately nine miles away from the resort.

When asked, Guasis gave a fake name to deputies and denied having any involvement in the reported events.

Upon further questioning, Guasis alleged that a friend who was accompanying them on the trip took a photo of the credit card, sent it to Guasis, and said Guasis’ date gave her permission to use it.

Guasis was unable to provide the name of the friend to law enforcement when asked. The date told law enforcement he never gave anybody permission to use his credit card.

Sheriff’s deputies detained Guasis, who posted $40,000 bail the next day with the assistance of a bond agency.

Guasis has no prior cases in the Idaho court database. However, according to court documents, Guasis is facing a fraud charge out of Alaska. It is unclear if Guasis has additional criminal history.

A preliminary hearing to determine if there’s enough probable cause to pursue the charges will be held on March 23.

Although online dating is becoming more commonplace, everyone assumes risk when meeting strangers off of the internet. Idaho has an online search tool allowing anyone to research an individual’s possible court history in the state. Go to mycourts.idaho.gov and select the “smart search” tool.