Santa Fe paramedic accused of charging $11K to dead man’s credit card

A Santa Fe paramedic was arrested Monday on charges he allegedly used a dead patient’s credit card to buy more than $11,000 worth of items.

Santa Fe police arrested Michael Harcharik, 31, after investigating the case over the weekend. The daughter of the dead man reported the fraudulent activity Friday when she tried to close his bank account and discovered it had been used, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican.

Police told the New Mexican Harcharik stole the man’s credit card when he and other paramedics were dispatched to the dead man’s home March 25.

Police found multiple instances on surveillance footage from Santa Fe retailers in which Harcharik used the debit card – sometimes while wearing his Santa Fe Fire Department jacket and driving a city-owned ambulance, according to the New Mexican.

He allegedly made nearly 50 different transactions, which included a $1,600 riding lawnmower. He is charged with credit card theft and fraudulent use of a credit card. The warrant for Harcharik said officers observed grass that was “very short and appeared to have been recently mowed.”

“[My father] died on Good Friday; I guess this guy went to town over the Easter weekend,” the dead man’s daughter told KOB.

Santa Fe spokesman Matt Ross said Harcharik is being placed on alternate duty and won’t have any public interaction while the investigation is ongoing. Ross said that duty would be determined by supervisors.

“We felt the best option was to continue to have this person performing non-public work duties as the investigation moves forward,” Ross said. “These are very serious allegations and we take them extremely seriously.”

“Like all Santa Feans, we are deeply concerned by the details beginning to emerge, and we want to assure the public that under no circumstances are these allegations representative of the high standards we demand from the members of the Santa Fe Fire Department,” SAID Fire Chief Erik Litzenberg. “The public’s trust is critical to our job as Firefighters, EMTs, and Paramedics, and we have extensive training and protocols in place to guide members of our department in exactly these types of situations.

Harcharik’s warrant for his arrest carried a $20,000 bond. Two battery against a household member charges against him from 2010 were dismissed without prejudice by an assistant district attorney in December of that year.