Impersonating Someone Online To Harm Or Defraud – California Penal Code 528.5
It is illegal to impersonate another person online, either to buy a social media posting account, like a Facebook account or an email, with the intent to harm that person or defraud another person.
We often see this when people impersonate another person, put up some crazy email account, or are in a boyfriend/girlfriend situation where one tries to get back at the other person.
So, they put up some fake account trying to defraud or harm the other person and make them look like an idiot online or put some sexually related material online by impersonating the other person. This is illegal, and you will be prosecuted if you are caught doing something like this.
With the new age of the internet, people do all sorts of things on the internet to gain an advantage over another person, steal someone's identity, or steal information or money. Now, Penal Code §528.5 is applicable and being used all the time by prosecutors and police to stop individuals from impersonating people online.
Punishment For PC 528.5
It is a straight misdemeanor. You could face up to a year in the County Jail. You could be sentenced to community service, Caltrans, community labor, or put on probation for three years. You could be ordered to stay away from the person. You could also be ordered while you're on probation not to be able to go online on a computer. They take these crimes very seriously.
So, suppose you're charged with impersonating another person and need a good criminal defense attorney. In that case, you're going to want to find somebody who knows this area of the law, who has dealt with cases involving Penal Code §528.5, and who knows how to get your version of events across to the prosecutor and the judge to either show that you're innocent of the crime or to mitigate the case down to some lesser offense or even get the case set up for a diversionary program so that your record can be protected.
Defenses to Impersonating Another Person
One defense is that nobody was harmed. Nobody took whatever you posted seriously, and therefore, you cannot be prosecuted pursuant to this Penal Code Section. Another defense is that you're not the person who set up the account, stole the identity, or impersonated another person.
The prosecutors will have to prove this through evidence. In other words, they can often track IP addresses and see who sets certain things up. But just because a person had a motive to impersonate another person online to defraud doesn't necessarily mean they did it.
So, even though the police or the prosecutors might believe you're guilty of a particular car, they will need the evidence to prove it. That's where a seasoned criminal defense, who has been litigating cases in Los Angeles for a long time, knows how to defend these impersonating cases and how to show your side of the story.
What we have you do is come in. Once we meet and go over everything, you'll have an idea of whether you're going to be able to defend the case, whether it's a situation where we need to work out a resolution in the case, or whether it's a situation where we need to fight the case all the way.
Could you give me information about the impersonation charges? It's incumbent upon you to be honest and tell the truth. Let us know what happened in the case so I can do everything I can to resolve it as quickly as possible and get you out of the judicial system as soon as possible.
A lot of defenses relating to Penal Code §528.5 violations and doing something to impersonate another person online center around the facts of the case. Once we get the facts and circumstances, we can really get down to the nitty-gritty as to whether or not you have a defense to this impersonation charge or whether it needs to be resolved through a plea bargain.
