Lou Dobbs appeared on Fox News last Friday with Bill O’Reilly, discussing identity theft. Dobbs said that using another person’s Social Security number is not a crime, although he said he believes identity theft is a criminal act. His double-talk suggests that identity theft isn’t punishable if it involves the misuse of a Social Security number with the intent to deceive an employer.
The discussion centered around illegal immigrant Nicky Diaz, who was a former housekeeper for Meg Whitman. In a case that sparked nationwide headlines, Diaz claimed that Whitman, a former eBay executive, knew Diaz was an illegal immigrant while employed from 2000-2009 as a housekeeper and nanny. Diaz said Whitman fired her because she decided to run for governor of California.
Diaz worked illegally by presenting counterfeit identification that included a Social Security card and California driver’s license. She testified she was aware that what she was doing was illegal. She used her sister’s Social Security information.
During the interview, Dobbs referred to the Identity Theft Assumption and Deterrence Act of 1998, which states that it is a federal crime when someone knowingly transfers or uses, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of federal law, or that constitutes a felony under any applicable state or local law. Means of identification is defined as any name or number that may be used, alone or in conjunction with any other information, to identify a specific individual, including a Social Security number. A conviction under this law is a felony and carries a maximum penalty of 25 years imprisonment.
The Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act of 2004 enhanced the penalties for ID theft, and created the new federal offense, aggravated identity theft, which is defined as knowingly transferring, possessing or using another person’s identity information. A conviction on that charge will face a mandatory additional sentence of two years.
The fact is that knowingly using another person’s Social Security number or other identifying documentation fraudulently with the intent to deceive is a punishable crime under several state and federal laws. Prosecutors in California have not charged Diaz under any of a multitude of state and federal statutes that may apply, and they probably won’t.
But that doesn’t mean what she’s done legal or morally tolerable. Identity theft is an intentional crime, and should be treated as such.
