Identity theft is a growing crime across the U.S. that involves stealing the personal identity information of another for financial gain. It is a form of fraud. It can mean stealing someone’s name, banking information, Social Security number, driver’s license, passport, Medicare or other health care ID, and anything else that identifies the individual. Identity theft can even include stealing another’s passwords. Banking information can include checking, savings, and investment account numbers, information about balances, deposits, and withdrawals. This offense can include stealing another’s identity to then obtain credit, cash, other financial benefits, or to commit any other crime under the victim’s name.
Under Washington law RCW 9.35.020, identify theft is defined as knowingly obtaining, possessing, using, or transferring “a means of identification or financial information of another person, living or dead, with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, any crime.”
The penalties for identity theft include jail or prison time, fines, potential restitution to victims, and probation. When the offense of identity theft involves obtaining anything valued at less than $1,500, it is charged as a Class C felony. This is punishable by up to five years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000.
When anything valued in excess of $1,500 is obtained through identify theft or when it targets a senior or another individual deemed vulnerable, the crime is charged as a Class B felony. It is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $20,000.
If you are convicted of identity theft, you are also open to a civil lawsuit for damages of $1,000 or the actual amount of damages suffered by the victim, whichever is greater. This can include the expenses needed to remedy the victim’s credit report as well as to pay for attorney fees.
Washington State also has a separate law RCW 9.35.010 that is labeled “improperly obtaining financial information.” Under this law, you may not “obtain or attempt to obtain, or cause to be disclosed or attempt to cause to be disclosed to any person, financial information” from a financial institution or a merchant, or anyone else with financial information. This involves making false statements with the intention to deceive in order to have the financial institution release information to you. Violation of this law is also a Class felony with penalties as stated above along with $500 in damages or the actual amount of damages, whichever is greater.
STOLE MY INFO FOR PERSONAL GAIN - AND TO CAUSE ME TO SUFFER FINANCIAL HARDSHIPS -
ILLEGALLY WROTE CHECKS IN MY NAME
FORGED MY SIGNATURE AND STOLE MY INHERITANCE
IMPERSONATED ME IN COURT AND IN PUBLIC
INTENDED TO CAUSE ME TO LOSE EVERYTHING SO THAT I WOULD KNOWINGLY SUFFER AND BECOME HOMELESS OR CAUSE MY DEATH DUE TO BEING UNDER SO MANY DEPRIVATIONS AND INTENDED ILLEGAL ACTS BRAZENLY BEING DONE AGAINST ME WITH OUT CAUSE EXCEPT THEIR HATRED FOR ME AND THEIR JEALOUSY FOR WHAT THE MOST HIGH GOD WAS BLESSING ME WITH -WHICH THEY FELT I DID NT DESEREVE DUE TO MY RACE MY RELIGION MY DISABILITY MY AGE AND MY MARITAL STATUS -WHICH THEY ALSO DESTROYED BY COLLECTIVELY SEDUCING MY LIFE PARTNER AND ALSO SEXUALLY HARASSING HIM AND ALSO ME TRYING TO GET ME TO PREVERT MY OWN RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND BECOME INVOLVED IN A SAME-SEX RELATIONSHIP WHICH I AM NOT INTERESTED IN DOING DUE TO MY STRONG BELIEFS AGAINST IT.
| Criminal Elder Abuse Wash. Rev. Code § 9A.56.400 | (1)(a) A person is guilty of theft from a vulnerable adult in the first degree if he or she commits theft of property or services that exceed(s) five thousand dollars in value, other than a firearm as defined in RCW 9.41.010, of a vulnerable adult. The defendant must have known or should have known that the victim was a vulnerable adult. (2)(a) A person is guilty of theft from a vulnerable adult in the second degree if he or she commits theft of property or services that exceed(s) seven hundred fifty dollars in value but does not exceed five thousand dollars in value, other than a firearm as defined in RCW 9.41.010 or a motor vehicle, of a vulnerable adult. The defendant must have known or should have known that the victim was a vulnerable adult. (b) Theft from a vulnerable adult in the second degree is a class C felony. http://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=9A.56.... |
While many individual states have passed legislation outlawing certain "hate crimes," it is also a federal crime to cause bodily injury or attempt to do so against anyone precisely because of their actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, or sexual orientation.
This law is codified at 18 U.S.C. § 249, and depending on the circumstances and the injury done to the victim, a person convicted of a federal hate crime could be sentenced to life in prison.
When federal prosecutors determine that a crime was committed against someone based on specific characteristics of the victim, the perpetrator could be subjected to enhanced penalties under state or federal hate crime laws. Federal hate crime legislation lists the elements and sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes.
18 U.S.C. §249 says, “Whoever willfully causes bodily injury to someone or, through using a firearm, a firearm, a dangerous weapon, or an explosive or incendiary device, attempts to cause bodily injury to anyone, because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, or national origin of any person, shall be fined and imprisoned for up to ten years or life in prison if death results or the offense includes kidnapping, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to kill.”
The prosecution for a hate crime falls under the umbrella of a civil rights violation. If convicted, federal statutes impose harsh legal penalties.
Thus, if you were accused of any civil rights violation, you could face charges under federal laws and would need to retain an experienced federal criminal defense lawyer. Let's review these laws more closely below.
Also known as The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, Title 18 U.S.C. 249 was passed to fill in some gaps and strengthen the law so prosecutors could more effectively apprehend and prosecute hate crimes offenders. This accounts for some of the specific scenarios in the law, which might not be covered in other hate crimes laws.
Specific Hate Crimes Addressed by the Law
18 U.S.C. 249 makes it a federal felony to commit either of the following offenses under the category of a hate crime:
People Protected by the Hate Crimes Law
18 U.S.C. 249 makes it a felony to commit either of the acts above against victims based on their actual or perceived association with the following:
"Actual or Perceived"
One key element in this law is the phrase "actual or perceived" [race, religion, etc.]. This is significant because it extends the definition of a hate crime to protect victims who are perceived to have a protected characteristic, even if the assailant is mistaken.
Thus, if you injure someone for being Jewish when they aren't Jewish, you are still guilty of a federal hate crime, the same as if the victim were, in fact, Jewish.
EXAMPLE 1: Arnold is angered over the growing presence of Muslims within his community, so he sucker-punches a man wearing Middle-Eastern garb, causing him to fall back and break his arm.
Arnold may be charged with a federal hate crime for causing bodily injury to someone based on their perceived religion.
EXAMPLE 2: Jake, a white nationalist, positions himself outside a mall in a predominantly black neighborhood and starts shooting randomly at black people coming out of the mall. Even if he fails to hit anyone, Jake can be charged with a federal hate crime for attempting to injure black people using a firearm.
EXAMPLE 3: A group of men from a local town corner a transgender man and begin to beat him and kick him mercilessly while issuing transphobic epithets against him. He is severely injured and left for dead.
While the assailants may be charged with a hate crime under other state or federal laws, they will NOT be charged under U.S.C. 249 because their gender identity-related hate crime did not involve interstate commerce nor cross state lines.
18 U.S. Code Chapter 13 lists the federal statutes dealing with civil rights violations, which include the following:
The penalties for violating 18 U.S.C. § 249 will depend on the specific circumstances of each case, but they can be pretty severe. In general, anyone who is convicted of a federal hate crime under this law can be sentenced to:
However, in certain conditions, the maximum sentence for this hate crime may be extended to life imprisonment. This is the case if the crime involves any of the following:
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