Your first observation is right on, however for your second, consider the possibility the perp had no intention in paying off his credit card debt. His simple plan was to stiff the credit card company. If someone was planning on no future, imagine how much they could purchase with a credit card.
Consider the computational power put in place in the major credit card's anti-fraud software. If you think this wouldn't set of major bells and whistles to FedGov you haven't been paying attention.
131 posted on 07/22/2012 11:33:24 PM PDT by zeugma
(Those of us who work for a living are outnumbered by those who vote for a living.)
I've bought more guns, for more money, in a shorter period of time than this guy did, and I always use a CC. Once bought an M16A1 and a registered AUG trigger pack on the same day, by CC. Total for both back then was around $20K.