Penalties for identity theft.
Any person convicted of identity theft shall be fined not more than (1) the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01, (2) twice the value of the property obtained or (3) twice the amount of the financial injury, whichever is greatest, or imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both, if the property obtained, or attempted to be obtained, or the amount of the financial injury is $1,000 or more. Any person convicted of identity theft shall be fined not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01 or imprisoned for not more than 180 days, or both, if the property obtained, or attempted to be obtained, or the amount of the financial injury, has some value, or if another person is falsely accused of, or arrested for, committing a crime because of the use, without permission, of that person’s personal identifying information. Any person who commits the offense of identity theft against an individual who is 65 years of age or older, at the time of the offense, may be punished by a fine of up to 11/2 times the maximum fine otherwise authorized for the offense and may be imprisoned for a term of up to 11/2 times the maximum term of imprisonment otherwise authorized for the offense, or both. It is an affirmative defense that the accused: Reasonably believed that the victim was not 65 years of age or older at the time of the offense; or Could not have determined the age of the victim because of the manner in which the offense was committed.
Annotations
Dec. 1, 1982, D.C. Law 4-164, § 127c as added Mar. 27, 2004, D.C. Law 15-106, § 2(c), 50 DCR 9809 Apr. 24, 2007, D.C. Law 16-306, § 218, 53 DCR 8610 Dec. 10, 2009, D.C. Law 18-88, § 214(k), 56 DCR 7413 June 3, 2011, D.C. Law 18-377, § 12(d), 58 DCR 1174 June 11, 2013, D.C. Law 19-317, §§ 111(a)(2), 205(n), 60 DCR 2064 Applicability of D.C. Law 19-317: Section 401 of D.C. Law 19-317 provided that the act shall apply only to offenses committed on or after June 11, 2013. For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see §§ 111(a)(2) and 205(n) of the Criminal Fine Proportionality Emergency Amendment Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-45, April 1, 2013, 60 DCR 5400, 20 DCSTAT 1300). For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 102(j) of Crime Bill Emergency Amendment Act of 2009 (D.C. Act 18-129, June 29, 2009, 56 DCR 5495). For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 218 of Omnibus Public Safety Second Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2007 (D.C. Act 17-25, April 19, 2007, 54 DCR 4036). For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 218 of Omnibus Public Safety Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2007 (D.C. Act 17-10, January 16, 2007, 54 DCR 1479). For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 218 of Omnibus Public Safety Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2006 (D.C. Act 16-490, October 18, 2006, 53 DCR 8686). For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 218 of Omnibus Public Safety Emergency Amendment Act of 2006 (D.C. Act 16-445, July 19, 2006, 53 DCR 6443). For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of Identity Theft Technical Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2006 (D.C. Act 16-359, April 26, 2006, 53 DCR 3615). For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of Identity Theft Technical Emergency Amendment Act of 2006 (D.C. Act 16-257, January 26, 2006, 53 DCR 772). For temporary (90 day) addition, see § 2(c) of Identity Thief Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2004 (D.C. Act 15-388, March 18, 2004, 51 DCR 3382). Section 4(b) of D.C. Law 16-141 provided that the act shall expire after 225 days of its having taken effect. Section 2 of D.C. Law 16-141, in subsec. (a), inserted “or attempted to be obtained” following “if the property obtained”; and, in subsec. (a), inserted “or attempted to be obtained” following “of the property obtained”. The 2013 amendment by D.C. Law 19-317 substituted “twice” for “3 times” twice in (a); and substituted “not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01” for “$10,000” in (a), and for “not more than $1,000” in (b). D.C. Law 18-377, in subsec. (b), substituted “if” for “if the value of”. D.C. Law 18-88, in subsec. (a), substituted “$1,000 or more” for “$250 or more”; and, in subsec. (b), substituted “has some value, or if another person is falsely accused of, or arrested for, committing a crime because of the use, without permission, of that person’s personal identifying information” for “whichever is greater, is less than $250”. D.C. Law 16-306, in subsecs. (a) and (b), inserted “or attempted to be obtained,” following “of the property obtained”. This section is referenced in § 16-801.
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