Arrested for Identity Theft in the Inland Empire?

You are booked and held until you post bail or see a judge. If you stay in custody, you must be brought to court for arraignment, usually within 48 hours, not counting Sundays and holidays. At arraignment, the judge reads the charges, takes your plea and rules on bail or release. The judge may also order you to stay away from the people involved. Police may seize phones, computers and mail as evidence, and the prosecutor can also file charges later if you were released. The sooner we’re involved, the sooner we can start working on your case.

Identity theft (PC 530.5(a)) means willfully getting someone else’s personal identifying information and using it for any unlawful purpose, such as obtaining credit, goods, services, property or medical information without their consent. Personal identifying information is defined broadly (PC 530.55): names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, Social Security, driver’s license and passport numbers, bank and credit card account numbers, PINs and passwords, and fingerprints and other biometric data. The other person can be living or dead, and can even be a business. The prosecutor does not have to show that anyone lost money.

Using someone’s information (PC 530.5(a)) is a wobbler: it can be filed as a misdemeanor, with up to a year in county jail, or as a felony, with 16 months, two or three years (PC 1170(h)). Unlike most thefts, the $950 line does not apply, so it can be a felony even when little or nothing was taken.

Possessing someone’s information with intent to defraud is a misdemeanor (PC 530.5(c)(1)), but it can be a felony if you have a prior identity theft conviction (PC 530.5(c)(2)) or had the information of 10 or more people (PC 530.5(c)(3)). Selling or transferring information with intent to defraud (PC 530.5(d)) can be a felony. Mail theft is a misdemeanor (PC 530.5(e)).

Not necessarily, but the risk is real. A felony identity theft conviction carries 16 months, two or three years, usually served in county jail (PC 1170(h)). Each person whose information was used can be charged as a separate count, which can increase the sentence. If the victim is an elder or a dependent adult and more than $950 was taken, the felony term is two, three or four years (PC 368(d), (e)). Many first-time cases are resolved with probation. The court must also order full restitution, which for identity theft victims can include the cost of monitoring and repairing their credit (PC 1202.4).

It can follow you. Identity theft is a crime of dishonesty, which matters to employers, landlords and licensing boards. Under Proposition 36, passed in 2024, identity theft and mail theft convictions are among the priors that count: with two or more such priors, a later petty theft or shoplifting charge can be filed as a felony, even for convictions from before the law took effect (PC 666.1).

For non-citizens, identity theft can be treated as a crime involving moral turpitude, and a fraud offense with losses over $10,000 can be an aggravated felony, which can lead to deportation. Talk to us before entering any plea.

Identity theft is often charged along with other fraud crimes, such as:

• Forgery (PC 470), such as signing someone else’s name to a check or document
• Access card offenses (PC 484e to 484j), such as acquiring someone’s credit or debit card number with intent to use it, or using a stolen, forged or revoked card
• False impersonation (PC 529), which can be a felony
• Online impersonation (PC 528.5), a misdemeanor
• Grand theft by false pretenses (PC 487, 532)

A forged check of $950 or less is normally a misdemeanor, but not when you are also convicted of identity theft (PC 473(b)).

Yes. Identity theft often involves banks, the mail or the internet, so federal agencies may investigate and federal prosecutors may file charges instead. Federal law has a separate crime called aggravated identity theft (18 U.S.C. 1028A) for using another person’s identifying information during certain federal felonies, such as bank, mail, wire or access device fraud. A conviction adds a mandatory two years in federal prison on top of the sentence for the underlying crime, and probation is not allowed. In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court limited this charge to cases where using the other person’s identity is at the heart of the crime.

No. Politely decline to answer questions and ask for a lawyer. Statements you make to police are often the strongest evidence in the case, even when you think they help you. Don’t log into the accounts involved, delete anything from your phone or computer, or contact the people whose information is involved. Don’t discuss the case by text, email, social media or jail phone calls. All of it can be recorded and used.

It depends on the evidence. Common defenses include:

• You had permission to use the information the way you did
• No intent to defraud or unlawful purpose, such as an honest mistake
• Mistaken identity: someone else used the same phone, computer, account, address or mailbox
• The information belonged to fewer than 10 people, which can make a possession charge a misdemeanor
• Evidence found in an illegal search of your phone, computer, car or home
• Insufficient evidence to prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt

We review bank and credit records, device and account logs, IP address data, surveillance video, mail records and witness statements to find the weaknesses in the case.

Often, yes. Depending on the evidence, charges may be dismissed, never filed, or reduced to a lesser charge. A felony identity theft charge can often be reduced to a misdemeanor (PC 17(b)), and some misdemeanor cases may be eligible for diversion, which ends in dismissal (PC 1001.95). Identity theft can’t be reduced to petty theft or shoplifting just because the amount was small, so how the case is negotiated matters. If you are convicted and complete probation, you may be able to have the conviction dismissed under PC 1203.4. For non-citizens, talk to us before entering any plea.