FeedsBasham seeks to strengthen identity theft culpability
A Senate bill introduced last week may give law enforcement more tools in the growing crime of identity theft in Michigan.
Senate Bills 703 through 706, if approved by the Legislature, would establish a graduated penalty system that would require those convicted of identity theft to serve more time and pay steeper fines, depending on the severity of damage caused to the victim, said State Sen. Ray Basham (D-Taylor), who drafted the bills.
“Identity theft can tear apart the victim’s life, but the penalties criminals face are minimal in comparison,” said Basham. “The punishment needs to fit the crime.”
Identity theft is a felony punishable by up to five years in jail and a $25,000 fine, or both. However, the profits individuals make through this activity far outweigh the risks and are simply perceived as a “cost of doing business”, officials said.
Senate Bill 703 establishes penalties and reforms sentencing guidelines for this type of crime to ensure that the punishment serves as an adequate deterrent to prevent identity theft and protect consumers, Basham said.
Currently, no matter how extensive the identity theft is proved to be, anyone convicted of it receives the same punishment.
Identity theft is a complicated process, with information often passing through the hands of many individuals before any theft actually occurs, it is crucial that our laws recognize that the person who eventually uses stolen information is not the only person at fault in the identity theft, Basham stated.
Specifically, Senate Bill 706 will allow prosecutors to go after each member of an identity theft ring, a power they currently do not have because of the existing laws. Senate Bills 704 and 705 make technical changes to existing sentencing guidelines and identity theft laws, respectively.
Andrea Cascarilla, Basham’s chief of staff, said the bill has been referred to the judiciary committee, and that the senator has not yet asked for talks on the bills.
“Right now, everything has been focused on the budget, and that’s rightfully so,” she said. “But we worked with the state attorney general, prosecutors and the state police to hopefully strengthen the current law, and we believe it’s an important set of bills.”
She also said she expects there will be bipartisan support for the bills.
“I haven’t spent too much time talking with the Senate Republicans about this because of the budget, but identity theft is devastating, and we expect we’ll be able to get support,” she said.
In 2005, more than 250,000 Americans were victims of identity theft, with 7,139 of them in Michigan, according to numbers provided by Basham’s office.
Identity thieves can use as little as a person’s name, Social Security number and date of birth to obtain credit cards, loans and purchase cars. Correcting the damage resulting from identity theft has cost the state and citizens a significant amount of time and money, Basham said.
