Virginia Identity Theft Lawyer

Under Virginia law, identity theft is defined as somebody who is either adopting or representing themselves as a different person, as a third party and without permission and to mislead somebody else. If you have been accused of taking on someone’s identity as your own, consult a Virginia identity theft lawyer that can advocate for you. Your skilled legal advocate can attempt to defend you to the best of their abilities.

Offenses Considered Identity Theft

The common offenses involving identity theft include using somebody’s personal information as payment, using a business associate or client’s fake ID to get into a bar, or applying for goods and services with someone’s account information.

Identity theft offenses can also be considered accessing information because they are impersonating a law enforcement official. Overall, identity theft is typically illegally accessing either the finances, identification or any benefit from another person.

Immediate Consequences of an Identity Theft Conviction

Individuals get caught usually when the real identity monitors and sees unusual activity on their account. The immediate consequences of an identity theft conviction depend on what the person is charged with. If somebody is charged with a misdemeanor that person could potentially spend some time in jail, they could just have a misdemeanor or pay a fine.

If somebody is charged with a felony a person could spend time in prison, could spend time in jail, the person could have just the fine and probation, it depends on the facts and circumstances of a person’s case, and if a person is defrauding 50 people or more, then that person has at least two years that they are going to be sent to prison. Upon that person’s felony conviction that person will lose the right to bear arms, voting rights, and those things that go along with a felony conviction. A Virginia identity theft lawyer can attempt to mitigate the penalties than an individual may face.

Long-Term Consequences of an Identity Theft Conviction

The long-term consequences a person may face for identity theft depends on what a person is convicted of, if a person is convicted of a felony, long-term consequences are that they cannot vote, they lose the right to bear arms, that person will probably have trouble of finding a job because it is such a serious offense. Lying cheating, and stealing, offenses that we hear of that are crimes involving moral turpitude are things that usually prevent people from finding jobs in the future.

Penalties

It is very rare that somebody is charged with identity theft as a misdemeanor because that would require that the financial loss again is under $200 like it is with all theft charges. With more than $200, which usually is, and it is judged by the financial loss, it can be punished as a felony offense. That means it could be punished as a Class 6 felony if it is up to five years in prison if it is a second or subsequent offense. If it is Class 5 felony, it is up to 10 years in prison and restitution as well.

If somebody is doing a mass identity theft, they are obtaining a whole bunch of people’s identifying information in the same transaction people who are getting all like sending up the spam and getting everybody’s identifying information, if they get more than 50 people, it is going to be a Class 4 felony, so two to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.

When to Consider a Plea Deal

People consider taking a plea deal if the evidence is overwhelming and they are potentially facing something like mandatory time in prison. It just depends, every case is different so that person should consult their Virginia identity theft lawyer and think about taking a plea deal.

Information to Collect When Consulting an Attorney

When contacting a Virginia identity theft attorney, a person should just have all the information they could think of, anything that they have been investigating, and anything unusual people have said to them. There are many different things that that person’s attorney might ask for but essentially any documents will be helpful.

If you have been charged with identity theft, it is in your best interests to hire a Virginia identity theft lawyer who experience with these kinds of cases, and who represents people who are charged with identity theft because it is usually charged as a felony. A seasoned fraud attorney can understand what is at stake and can work determinedly in an attempt to fight for you.