Establishes and redefines offenses involving fraud, scheme to defraud and larceny

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1 amends section 155.00 of the penal law to amend several definitions under the crime of larceny. It adds personal identifying information and secret scientific material to the definition of "property" and adds provisions relating to personal identifying information to the definitions of "obtain", "deprive", and "appropriate". It also amends the definition of "owner" by clarifying that a person may own a service or possess the right to provide a service. It also establishes a definition of "personal identifying information" and amends the definition of "service", "computer program", and "computer data".

Section 2 amends paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 of section 155.05 of the penal law to add provisions regarding obtaining property or service through fraudulent means and regarding theft of service.

Section 3 amends subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 155.20 of the penal law to clarify the determination of value with regard to property, to service, and to computer data and computer programs.

Section 4 adds a new section 155.23 to the penal law which establishes the crime of petit theft of service, and provides that it shall be a class B misdemeanor.

Section 5 amends section 155.25 of the penal law to add theft of service exceeding five hundred dollars to the crime of petit larceny.

Section 6 amends section 155.30 of the penal law to add language relating to theft of service and to personal identifying information to the definition of grand larceny in the fourth degree.

Section 7 amends section 155.35 of the penal law to add language relating to theft of service and to personal identifying information to the definition of grand larceny in the third degree.

Section 8 amends section 155.40 of the penal law to add language relating to theft of service and to personal identifying information to the definition of grand larceny in the second degree.

Section 9 amends section 155.42 of the penal law to add language relating to theft of service and to personal identifying information to the definition of grand larceny in the first degree.

Section 10 repeals sections 190.60 and 190.65 of the penal law.

Section 11 adds six new sections 190.60, 190.61, 190.62, 190.63, 190.64, and 190.65 to the penal law. Section 190.60 defines the crime of scheme to defraud. Section 190.61 establishes the crime of scheme to defraud in the fifth degree and provides that it shall be a class A misdemeanor. Section 190.62 establishes the crime of scheme to defraud in the fourth degree and provides that it shall be a class E felony. Section 190.63 establishes the crime of scheme to defraud in the third degree and provides that it shall be a class D felony. Section 190.64 establishes the crime of scheme to defraud in the second degree and provides that it shall be a class C felony. Section 190.65 establishes the crime of scheme to defraud in the first degree and provides that it shall be a class B felony.

Section 12 provides that this act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the date upon which this act shall have become a law.

Justification

This legislation is necessary to address those who are engaged in widespread efforts to defraud the public and provide appropriate penalties for large-scale fraudulent activity. Charging a person who is engaged in a scheme to defraud many people out of relatively small amounts of money would currently lead to multiple counts of petit larceny, which is a class A misdemeanor, and would not reflect the severity of a scheme to defraud a significant number of people out of their income. This legislation would provide more severe penalties to reflect the harm caused by a scheme to defraud.

This legislation also repeals convoluted statute relating to theft of service and includes theft of service within the existing crime of larceny. This provides an important protection against theft of a service which rightfully belongs to another person, such as theft of government benefits or theft of cable or utilities. This legislation would allow higher penalties for theft of extremely valuable services and bring our laws up to date with the modern era.

Another area in which our laws lag behind is the protection of personal identifying information. In an age when private information is increasingly stored online and goods and services are often purchased online with credit cards, it is more important than ever to ensure that theft of personal identifying information is prosecuted appropriately. This legislation allows the theft of personal identifying information, computer data, or a computer program to be included under the crime of larceny when the theft of that information or property causes significant loss of economic benefit to the owner of that information or property.

Prior legislative history

New Legislation

Fiscal implications

None to the state.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the date upon which this act shall have become a law.