Identity theft is a crime in Maryland. It is specifically called the theft or obtaining of personal identifying information without consent. See Md. Crim. Cod, Section 8-301. If you are charged with identity theft, you will need to retain the legal services of an experienced Maryland criminal defense attorney like those at the Law Office of Robert Castro. Call us at (301) 870-1200 if you have been arrested or charged. We are available around the clock, 24/7. You can also use our contact page. We are criminal lawyers in Charles County, MD.

The elements of the crime that must be proven — beyond a reasonable doubt — by the prosecuting attorneys are:

• Knowing and/or intentional
• Possession or acquisition
• With fraudulent intent
• Any personal identifying information of an individual
• Without the consent of the person whose identity is being stolen
• For the purpose of using, transferring, or selling the information
• To obtain a thing of value in the name of the person whose identity is being stolen — “thing of value means money, goods, credit, any benefit, etc.

Note that the definition of “personal identifying information” is very broadly defined to include things like names, social security numbers, addresses, credit card numbers, financial account numbers, driver’s license numbers, employment information, date of birth, mother’s maiden name, etc. Note also that the statute states that possessing ANY personal identifying information will satisfy that element of the crime. As such, one potential defense to the charges is a constitutional claim that the statute, as written, is overly broad, including a large amount of innocent behavior in its definition of the crime.

In terms of punishments, identity theft in the amount of less than $500 is considered a misdemeanor and, if convicted, a defendant faces up to 18 months incarceration, a fine of up to $5,000, or both. If the value of the goods/benefits stolen through use of another’s identity is greater than $500, then the crime is considered a felony and the defendant faces up to 15 YEARS in prison, a fine of up to $15,000, or both. Note that multiple offenses as part of the same course of criminal behavior can be aggregated by the prosecutors for purposes of sentencing. Likewise, each incident of identity theft can, under some circumstances, be charged as a separate crime.

In terms of legal defenses, the elements of the crime provide a good number of possibilities. That is, the crime has many elements, and each element can be challenged by the evidence to avoid a guilty verdict from the jury. For example, it may be possible to argue that there was no knowledge or intent. This might be the defense of an accident or mistake. Also, it might be argued that there was no intent or purpose to use the other person’s identity to obtain goods or services or other things of value. In some cases, it might be argued that there was consent, either actual or implied.

Beyond these crime-specific defenses, there might be more general defenses like alibi, mistaken identity, constitutional violations, violations of police procedures, etc.

Contact Waldorf, Maryland Criminal Defense Lawyer Robert Castro Today

This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions, contact our office to speak to an experienced Maryland criminal defense lawyer at (301) 870-1200. We are Waldorf, MD, Criminal Defense lawyers. Our address is 2670 Crain Highway, Waldorf, MD 20601.