Public Act 93-0401
SB242 Enrolled LRB093 04421 MBS 04471 b
AN ACT in relation to criminal law.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Criminal Code of 1961 is amended by
changing the heading of Article 16G and Sections 16G-1,
16G-5, 16G-10, 16G-15, 16G-20, 16G-21, and 16G-25 as follows:
(720 ILCS 5/Article 16G heading)
ARTICLE 16G FINANCIAL IDENTITY THEFT
AND ASSET FORFEITURE LAW
(720 ILCS 5/16G-1)
Sec. 16G-1. Short title. This Article may be cited as
the Financial Identity Theft and Asset Forfeiture Law.
(Source: P.A. 91-517, eff. 8-13-99.)
(720 ILCS 5/16G-5)
Sec. 16G-5. Legislative declaration.
(a) It is the public policy of this State that the
substantial burden placed upon the economy of this State as a
result of the rising incidence of financial identity theft
and the negative effect of this crime on the People of this
State and its victims is a matter of grave concern to the
People of this State who have the right to be protected in
their health, safety, and welfare from the effects of this
crime, and therefore financial identity theft shall be
identified and dealt with swiftly and appropriately
considering the onerous nature of the crime.
(b) The widespread availability and unauthorized access
to personal identification information have led and will lead
to a substantial increase in identity theft related crimes.
(Source: P.A. 91-517, eff. 8-13-99.)
(720 ILCS 5/16G-10)
Sec. 16G-10. Definitions. In this Article unless the
context otherwise requires:
(a) "Personal identification document" means a birth
certificate, a drivers license, a State identification card,
a public, government, or private employment identification
card, a social security card, a firearm owner's
identification card, a credit card, a debit card, or a
passport issued to or on behalf of a person other than the
offender, or any document made or issued, or falsely
purported to have been made or issued, by or under the
authority of the United States Government, the State of
Illinois, or any other State political subdivision of any
state, or any other governmental or quasi-governmental
organization that is of a type intended for the purpose of
identification of an individual, or any such document made or
altered in a manner that it falsely purports to have been
made on behalf of or issued to another person or by the
authority of one who did not give that authority.
(b) "Personal identifying information" means any of the
following information:
(1) A person's name;
(2) A person's address;
(2.5) A person's date of birth;
(3) A person's telephone number;
(4) A person's drivers license number or State of
Illinois identification card as assigned by the Secretary
of State of the State of Illinois or a similar agency of
another state;
(5) A person's Social Security number;
(6) A person's public, private, or government
employer, place of employment, or employment
identification number;
(7) The maiden name of a person's mother;
(8) The number assigned to a person's depository
account, savings account, or brokerage account;
(9) The number assigned to a person's credit or
debit card, commonly known as a "Visa Card", "Master
Card", "American Express Card", "Discover Card", or other
similar cards whether issued by a financial institution,
corporation, or business entity;
(10) Personal identification numbers;
(11) Electronic identification numbers;
(12) Digital signals;
(13) Any other numbers or information which can be
used to access a person's financial resources, or to
identify a specific individual.
(c) "Document-making implement" means any implement,
impression, template, computer file, computer disc,
electronic device, computer hardware, computer software,
instrument, or device that is used to make a real or
fictitious or fraudulent personal identification document.
(Source: P.A. 91-517, eff. 8-13-99.)
(720 ILCS 5/16G-15)
Sec. 16G-15. Financial Identity theft.
(a) A person commits the offense of financial identity
theft when he or she knowingly:
(1) uses any personal identifying information or
personal identification document of another person to
fraudulently obtain credit, money, goods, services, or
other property, or.
(2) uses any personal identification information or
personal identification document of another with intent
to commit any felony theft or other felony violation of
State law not set forth in paragraph (1) of this
subsection (a), or
(3) obtains, records, possesses, sells, transfers,
purchases, or manufactures any personal identification
information or personal identification document of
another with intent to commit or to aid or abet another
in committing any felony theft or other felony violation
of State law, or
(4) uses, obtains, records, possesses, sells,
transfers, purchases, or manufactures any personal
identification information or personal identification
document of another knowing that such personal
identification information or personal identification
documents were stolen or produced without lawful
authority, or
(5) uses, transfers, or possesses document-making
implements to produce false identification or false
documents with knowledge that they will be used by the
person or another to commit any felony theft or other
felony violation of State law.
(b) Knowledge shall be determined by an evaluation of
all circumstances surrounding the use of the other person's
identifying information or document.
(c) When a charge of financial identity theft of credit,
money, goods, services, or other property exceeding a
specified value is brought the value of the credit, money,
goods, services, or other property is an element of the
offense to be resolved by the trier of fact as either
exceeding or not exceeding the specified value.
(d) Sentence.
(1) A person convicted of identity theft in
violation of paragraph (1) of subsection (a) shall be
sentenced as follows:
(A) Financial identity theft of credit, money,
goods, services, or other property not exceeding $300 in
value is a Class A misdemeanor. A person who has been
previously convicted of financial identity theft of less
than $300 who is convicted of a second or subsequent
offense of financial identity theft of less than $300 is
guilty of a Class 4 felony. A person who has been
convicted of financial identity theft of less than $300
who has been previously convicted of any type of theft,
robbery, armed robbery, burglary, residential burglary,
possession of burglary tools, home invasion, home repair
fraud, aggravated home repair fraud, or financial
exploitation of an elderly or disabled person is guilty
of a Class 4 felony. When a person has any such prior
conviction, the information or indictment charging that
person shall state the prior conviction so as to give
notice of the State's intention to treat the charge as a
felony. The fact of the prior conviction is not an
element of the offense and may not be disclosed to the
jury during trial unless otherwise permitted by issues
properly raised during the trial.
(B) (2) Financial Identity theft of credit, money,
goods, services, or other property exceeding $300 and not
exceeding $2,000 in value is a Class 4 felony.
(C) (3) Financial Identity theft of credit, money,
goods, services, or other property exceeding $2,000 and
not exceeding $10,000 in value is a Class 3 felony.
(D) (4) Financial Identity theft of credit, money,
goods, services, or other property exceeding $10,000 and
not exceeding $100,000 in value is a Class 2 felony.
(E) (5) Financial Identity theft of credit, money,
goods, services, or other property exceeding $100,000 in
value is a Class 1 felony.
(2) A person convicted of any offense enumerated in
paragraphs (2) through (5) of subsection (a) is guilty of
a Class 4 felony.
(3) A person convicted of any offense enumerated in
paragraphs (2) through (5) of subsection (a) a second or
subsequent time is guilty of a Class 3 felony.
(4) A person who, within a 12 month period, is
found in violation of any offense enumerated in
paragraphs (2) through (5) of subsection (a) with respect
to the identifiers of 3 or more separate individuals, at
the same time or consecutively, is guilty of a Class 3
felony.
(Source: P.A. 91-517, eff. 8-13-99; 92-792, eff. 8-6-02.)
(720 ILCS 5/16G-20)
Sec. 16G-20. Aggravated financial identity theft.
(a) A person commits the offense of aggravated financial
identity theft when he or she commits the offense of
financial identity theft as set forth in subsection (a) of
Section 16G-15 against a person 60 years of age or older or a
disabled person as defined in Section 16-1.3 of this Code.
(b) Knowledge shall be determined by an evaluation of
all circumstances surrounding the use of the other person's
identifying information or document.
(c) When a charge of aggravated financial identity theft
of credit, money, goods, services, or other property
exceeding a specified value is brought the value of the
credit, money, goods, services, or other property is an
element of the offense to be resolved by the trier of fact as
either exceeding or not exceeding the specified value.
(d) A defense to aggravated financial identity theft
does not exist merely because the accused reasonably believed
the victim to be a person less than 60 years of age.
(e) Sentence.
(1) Aggravated financial identity theft of credit,
money, goods, services, or other property not exceeding
$300 in value is a Class 4 felony.
(2) Aggravated financial identity theft of credit,
money, goods, services, or other property exceeding $300
and not exceeding $10,000 in value is a Class 3 felony.
(3) Aggravated financial identity theft of credit,
money, goods, services, or other property exceeding
$10,000 in value and not exceeding $100,000 in value is a
Class 2 felony.
(4) Aggravated financial identity theft of credit,
money, goods, services, or other property exceeding
$100,000 in value is a Class 1 felony.
(5) A person who has been previously convicted of
aggravated financial identity theft regardless of the
value of the property involved who is convicted of a
second or subsequent offense of aggravated financial
identity theft regardless of the value of the property
involved is guilty of a Class X felony.
(Source: P.A. 91-517, eff. 8-13-99.)
(720 ILCS 5/16G-21)
Sec. 16G-21. Civil remedies. A person who is convicted
of financial identity theft or aggravated financial identity
theft is liable in a civil action to the person who suffered
damages as a result of the violation. The person suffering
damages may recover court costs, attorney's fees, lost wages,
and actual damages.
(Source: P.A. 92-686, eff. 7-16-02.)
(720 ILCS 5/16G-25)
Sec. 16G-25. Offenders interest in the property. It is no
defense to a charge of aggravated financial identity theft or
financial identity theft that the offender has an interest in
the credit, money, goods, services, or other property
obtained in the name of the other person.
(Source: P.A. 91-517, eff. 8-13-99.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.