Supreme Court to Decide Identity Theft Sentencing Issue
Updated: The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide a sentencing issue in identity theft cases that has divided lower appeals courts.
The question is whether the law that increases the sentence for identity theft requires proof the defendant knew the identity card or number he used belonged to an actual person, SCOTUSblog reports.
The defendant in the case was a laborer from Mexico who used a fake Social Security card and alien registration card to work at an Illinois steel plant.
Experts told the Washington Post that a loss for prosecutors in the case would harm the government’s ability to bring aggravated identity theft cases against illegal immigrants.
Federal appeals courts have split 3-3 on the sentencing issue based on their interpretation of the word “knowingly” in a 2004 statute. The case is Flores-Figueroa v. U.S.
Updated at noon to include Washington Post information.
