If you or a loved one has been charged with identity theft in Los Angeles, California, you should immediately contact experienced Identity Theft Attorney Los Angeles at The H Law Group to defend you. Our identity theft attorneys have defended countless individuals charged with financial crimes, so they have the knowledge and experience necessary to achieve the best possible results for you.
If you have been charged with identity theft in Los Angeles, you should not take these charges lightly as a conviction for identity theft carries a maximum jail sentence of up to three years in county jail. So, whether you have been charged with misdemeanor identity theft or felony identity theft, you should contact an experienced identity theft attorney at The H Law Group to defend you and mitigate the potential consequences that you face. Schedule your free consultation today by filling out the contact form or by calling us at 1 (213) 370-0404.
California Penal Code Section 530.5 makes it a crime for a person to use or obtain another person’s identifying information, such as his name, date of birth, address, social security number, driver’s license number, or telephone number for any unlawful purpose, such as obtaining credit, goods, services, or real property without the consent of the owner of the personal information.
For example, if a person buys the personal information of another person to fraudulently obtain a credit card, this person can be charged with and convicted of identity theft in violation of penal code section 530.5 PC.
Identity theft is a wobbler, meaning the prosecution has the discretion to charge identity theft as either a felony or a misdemeanor. The prosecution’s decision largely depends on the monetary value of the loss to any victims, and the defendant’s criminal record.
So, if you have been charged with identity theft in Los Angeles, California, you should promptly contact an experienced Los Angeles Identity Theft Defense Attorney at The H Law Group to defend you and keep you from going to jail for a long period of time.
For the prosecution to prove an individual guilty of identity theft in Los Angeles, California, the prosecution must prove the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt. If the prosecution fails to prove even one element, it will not be able to convict the defendant of identity theft.
The prosecution must prove the following elements:
Note: Personal identifying information includes: the name, address, phone number, driver’s license number, date of birth, social security number, bank account number, or the credit card number of another person. Also, simply having possession of another person’s information is not sufficient for the prosecution to convict a person of identity theft.
According to California Penal Code Section 530.5, “Every person who willfully obtained personal identifying information, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 530.55, of another person, and uses that information for any unlawful purpose, including to obtain, or attempt to obtain, credit, goods, services, real property, or medical information without the consent of that person, is guilty of a public offense, and upon conviction therefor, shall be punished by a fine, by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year, or by both a fine and imprisonment or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170.”
Identity theft is a wobbler, meaning the prosecution has the discretion to charge it as either a misdemeanor or a felony. If the defendant is convicted of felony identity theft, he faces up to three years in county jail, as well as payment of a fine of up to $10,000. The defendant also faces being placed on felony formal probation. That said, if the defendant is convicted of misdemeanor identity theft, he faces up to 12 months in county jail, as well as payment of a fine of up to $1000. Also, the defendant may face being placed on misdemeanor summary probation for three to five years.
If a person has been charged with identity theft in violation of California Penal Code Section 530.5 PC, there are a number of defenses that your attorney can make to defend you. Please note that the list of defenses we are about to share with you is not an exhaustive list of all of the defenses that your attorney can use, but rather some of the defenses that your attorney may be able to use.
To know which defenses apply to your case, you should contact an experienced Los Angeles Identity Theft Attorney at The H Law Group to look over the facts of your case and determine the applicable defenses. Our attorneys will create the best possible defense strategy for you.
If a person steals another person’s credit card with intent to use the credit card to unlawfully withdraw money and buy goods or services without the card holder’s consent, the person can be charged with credit card fraud, as well as identity theft.
If a person steals another person’s social security number to open fake accounts and apply for credit cards without the social security number holder’s permission to do so, he can be charged with identity theft because a person’s SSN is considered as personal identifying information. Taking a person’s SSN for an unlawful person can be used by the prosecution to convict you of identity theft.
If you or a loved one has been charged with identity theft in Los Angeles, CA, you should immediately contact an experienced Los Angeles Identity Theft Lawyer to defend you and keep you from going to jail. Our attorneys have defended countless individuals’ charges with financial crimes, so they have the knowledge and experience to mitigate the potential consequences that you face.
At the outset of every case, one of our attorneys will go over the facts of your case to determine whether a dismissal is possible. If they believe a dismissal is possible, they will communicate this to the prosecution. If the prosecution refuses to dismiss your case, our attorneys will do all that they can to negotiate the best possible plea deal for you. Schedule your free consultation today by filling out the contact form below or by calling us at 1 (213) 370-0404.
