Requires persons engaged in the sale of cellular telephones in the normal course of business to provide purchasers with proof of ownership and origin of the cell phones sold

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1: Adds a new General Business Law section 392-aa to mandate that. all businesses that, in the normal course of their business, offer for sale cell phones must. give to such purchaser a written receipt for that transaction. Further, that such written receipt. must include the serial number and international mobile equipment identifier that is unique to such device. In addition, since many consumers may lose or not retain such written sales receipt that contains this identifying information, the selling business must also send such information electronically to such purchaser so that the purchaser has the ability to keep such information on the cell phone in question. The first. violation of this section shall be punishable by a fine of no more than $ 500, and any subsequent. violation of this provision of law within one year shall be punishable by a fine of up to $ 750 and a sentence of imprisonment for not more than 30 days, or both.

Section 2: Amends Penal Law section 165.55 to add a new subdivision 5 that relates to the presumptions used when prosecuting the crime of criminal possession of stolen property. Under this bill, a business that, in the normal course of business, sells cell phones, that possesses five items or more of stolen property, which is a cell phone, is presumed to knowingly possess stolen property (and hence is guilty of this crime), if such person, is unable to produce some sort of reasonable or commercially acceptable proof of origin that demonstrates that such devices came directly from the manufacturer or authorized commercial distributor of such device or from a bona fide owner who purchased such cell phone legitimately.

Justification

With the advent of the new release of more advanced cell phones, such as the iPhone 5, in which the public's desire to purchase such cell phones is enhanced due to sizable multi-media advertising campaigns

launched by its manufactures to sell additional phones, the incidence of theft of such phones has increased. As cited by the NYC Police Department, the incidence of theft of newly released cell phones sky rockets as the public's demand for such newly released cell phones occur. The crime statistics indicate that the theft of such phones increases significantly once such phones have been newly released.

What has been occurring is that thieves steal such high value phones at an increased rate because of the enhanced demand by the public for such newly released phones. Further, since such thieves have the ability to clean the identification of the previous legitimate cell phone owner, these cell phones can be readily sold on the black market to businesses that sell these phones to the general public at a much reduce price. Further, since records indicating that the phone had a previous owner have been deleted, the unsuspecting, and perhaps suspecting new purchaser can easily purchase such fenced phone at a reduced price that is below the cost of purchasing such phone from a bona fide retailer.

What this bill does is amend the law so that the purchaser of a cell phone must do his or her due diligence to ensure that the phone is being purchased from a bona fide manufacturer, dealer, or person who legitimately owned the phone. This is done by requiring the seller to issue and such new purchaser to obtain proof of origin that. such device has not be stolen to then be resold to the purchaser in question.It is the bill sponsor's hope that this new due diligence standard will curb a seller and purchaser's desire to buy stolen property.

Prior legislative history

New Bill.

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

Ninety days after it shall have become law.