Virginia Identity Theft Lawyer

Don’t risk being convicted of a theft charge. As a Virginia identity theft lawyer, I can fight your charges in court and defend your legal rights. call to discuss.

read below penalties and defense strategies of theft criminal charges.

Virginia Identity Theft Charges

The Internet and the widespread use of smartphones, data sharing, and all the other technological developments of the last few decades have helped create a great number of new identity theft crimes and laws.

Hire an experienced Virginia identity theft lawyer now if you are facing this.

Virginia defines identity theft in law section §18.2-186.3. 

This section makes it illegal to use, obtain, possess the personal information of another without their permission with the intent to benefit yourself. 

Specifically, the law names offenses such as the holding of identification documents, obtaining money, loans, or goods by using someone else’s information, and many more specific acts. 

If you worry your actions might constitute identity theft, contact an attorney at American Lawyers Group now.

Identity theft, when done with a computer, is a class 6 felony. 

This kind of identity theft, casually called “hacking”, is made a class 5 felony when the fruits of the hacking are sold to someone else. 

If that buyer then uses the ill-gotten personal information, they have committed a class 5 felony.

Virginia law also provides that the criminal act is considered to have occurred wherever the rightful owner of the stolen information resides. 

The law does not care if the defendant was ever actually there

Virginia Identity Theft Penalties

If Virginia manages to win a conviction on an identity theft charge, the punishment will largely depend on how much financial damage was done. 

For example, identity theft that resulted in $1000 of financial damage or more is considered a class 6 felony in Virginia and can be punished with 1 to 5 years in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. 

However, if the identity theft caused less than $1000 of damage for the victim, the crime is a class 1 misdemeanor.

 Class 1 misdemeanors are punishable with up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.

Federal charges for identity theft will be far more vigorously prosecuted, investigated, and punished.  

Extended jail time and harsh fines can ruin your life immediately, but the presence of identity theft on a criminal record can bar you from employment at any job that handles personal information. 

If you are facing identity theft charges, you need to contact a Virginia identity theft lawyer from American Lawyers Group today.

Identity Theft Defenses

A skilled identity theft lawyer can attack the holes in the prosecution’s case. 

Namely, a skilled defense attorney will be able to point to a lack of evidence, inconsistencies, and weak arguments to show the jury or judge that the prosecution was not able to meet its burden of proving every element of the case beyond a reasonable doubt. 

Additionally, a skilled Virginia identity theft will move to suppress wrongfully gained evidence and statements to help protect your constitutionally enshrined rights at every step of litigation.

Victims of Identity Theft

If you are the victim of identity theft there are steps you can take to mitigate damage and protect yourself. 

Firstly, victims of credit card identity theft must prove the credit card charges are not theirs. 

Attorneys can help by contacting the legal offices of credit card companies to communicate the situation and help get the fraudulent charges removed.

You may know the person.  Sometimes, identity theft occurs from a data breach of a major corporation, a scam call, or a phony text message. 

More often, however, the thief is someone you know.  An angry ex-boyfriend or girlfriend, a family member with financial problems, or maybe just a bad friend. 

If you know who took your data, your attorneys can help you prove the fraud even faster.

Why You Need a Virginia Identity Theft Lawyer?

Identity theft is a complex crime with many nuanced and technical aspects that have arisen as a result of our increasingly technical world. 

Identity theft is charged both at a state and a federal level, but both have tremendous fines and prolonged jail time as penalties should the government secure a conviction. 

You need an experienced Virginia identity theft lawyer who can stand up for you in court and defend your rights at all stages of the case. 

If you face charges of identity theft, contact American Lawyers Group today.