Is Utilizing A Fake ID Card Identity Theft?

Using a pretend ID is a time-honored method of getting around age restrictions for young people who want to buy alcohol or get into a bar. While individuals younger than the authorized drinking age use fake IDs day by day without significant consequences, it’s attainable that doing so will lead to criminal charges. In some conditions the youngster may even be charged with identification theft.

Id Theft

Someone who uses one other person’s figuring out information to fraudulently or illegally obtain some type of profit commits the crime of id theft. For instance, if you utilize somebody else’s Social Security number, contact data, and personal particulars to open a brand new credit card, you commit identity theft.

Likewise, relying on the state in which you reside, using a fake ID to get into a bar or purchase alcohol may be identity theft or a associated crime.

For instance, someone within the state of Rhode Island commits the crime of identity theft, often called identification fraud in that state, by knowingly possessing a false or stolen identification document. (Rhode Island Normal Legal guidelines § 11-49.1-3.) Identification fraud is a felony offense in Rhode Island, with a most possible penalty of three to 10 years in prison, depending on the circumstances.

Exceptions

Although all states have laws that criminalize identity theft, together with laws that particularly handle using false identification or false paperwork, some states have made specific exceptions to these laws on the subject of using a faux ID.

For example, in West Virginia it’s a felony to make use of one other person’s identification with the intent to fraudulently represent oneself as the other particular person. If you're convicted of id theft in West Virginia you face up to five years in prison. (West Virginia Code § 61-3-54.)

However the West Virginia regulation, like statutes in lots of other states, makes an exception in conditions where somebody makes use of one other person’s identification to misrepresent his or her age. Primarily, if you use a fake ID or use someone else’s ID to get right into a bar in West Virginia, you don’t commit identification theft. However, using or possessing a fake ID remains to be illegal, and you may still face a superb, license suspension, and different penalties.

Prosecutorial Discretion

Even when you reside in a state where you might be charged with identity theft when utilizing a faux ID, that doesn’t imply you can be. Prosecutors are allowed to decide on when to cost somebody with against the law. This is known as prosecutorial discretion. In fake id usa of situations the place, for example, a school student makes use of a fake ID to get right into a bar, it’s unlikely that that scholar might be arrested or charged with an identity theft crime.

Speak to a Lawyer in Your Space

If you utilize a pretend ID to get into a bar or buy alcohol and have that ID confiscated, or are approached by police or criminal investigators about the ID, you shouldn’t make any statements until you might have contacted a criminal protection legal professional in your space. Additional, as a result of the laws that apply in one of these situation differ so considerably between states, you must seek advice concerning the potential penalties of getting used the fake ID. Consulting a neighborhood criminal defense lawyer for advice is the way to protect your rights and understand the potential consequences.