A recent article in The New York Times tells the tale of a woman who used identity theft to rent luxury apartments for NYC street gangs. Police claim the suspect used falsified tax returns, bank statements, driver’s licenses, and social security numbers to rent the apartments.
Most identity theft cases don’t involve apartments for criminal organizations, of course. Often, they involve attempts to obtain fraudulent loans or other services.
These crimes can be charged either as state or federal crimes. Sometimes, the people charged with identity theft are the actual victims of the crime.
When that happens, there are a few avenues your criminal defense lawyer can take.