Woman stole sick dad’s credit cards to spend thousands on tattoos and at ‘nudity club,’ cops say

A 22-year-old Bradenton woman spent thousands of dollars on tattoos and at an “adult nudity club,” but the money she spent wasn’t hers, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies say Katarina Van Fossen stole her father’s credit cards while he was in the hospital “having procedures due to his potentially terminal medical condition.”

Van Fossen spent about $3,600 during a week-long spending spree at the end of October that included the nudity club, tattoos, piercings and modifications to her vehicle, deputies say.

According to the report, Van Fossen made 28 transactions in Manatee County, and could face charges in four other counties where illegal transactions also took place.

Deputies say Van Fossen tried to tell deputies that she used the cards to buy food because she didn’t have any, but she could not explain the other transactions when confronted.

Van Fossen was already in jail on traffic-related charged when deputies made contact with her about the credit card charges. She remains in jail on bonds totaling $4,120, on two counts of credit card fraud and other charges.

This story was originally published November 19, 2019 at 8:15 AM.