ECU
New Identity Theft Law
After years in development led by Jefferson County District Attorney Scott Story, Colorado's legislature passed a series of tough Identity Theft laws in July, 2006.
Colorado, sixth in the country in identity theft, finally relinquished the title it shared as 
one of only two states in the US without an actual Identity Theft law as of July 1, 2006. Colorado prosecutors finally had the aggressive prosecution tools they needed to address the problems of identity theft.
Identity theft is a growing crime with a number of risk factors that are seemingly difficult to avoid in everyday life. As these crimes escalated throughout the past decade, Colorado?s laws were woefully inadequate to hold offenders accountable and protect victims.
Prior to July 2006, if investigators came upon a cache of stolen mail as part of a criminal operation, that in itself was barely chargeable. Today with the new laws in place, that would be a class four felony and punishable by up to six years in prison
Colorado's series of identity theft laws make it illegal for another person to gather, possess or use your personal or financial identifying information. It also makes it crime to possess identity theft tools or financial devices, such as a stolen credit card. Conviction of any of these violations is a class four felony. A second conviction of one of the charges makes a prison sentence mandatory.
Prosecutors now have the tools they need to respond to the crisis erupting in our communities. This legislation provides greater protection for victims and recognizes harm done to those whose identities are stolen or compromised.
Identity thieves steal credit card numbers, bank account numbers and the highly coveted social security number. With a social security number fraudsters can open new credit card accounts, buy a boat or a house, never pay a bill and destroy someone?s credit before an unsuspecting consumer knows what happened.
Grand Juries
In the First Judicial District, Jefferson and Gilpin counties, most cases are filed by information and complaint. However, complex, financial white collar cases have almost always been investigated and charged through the grand jury process.
Grand juries hear a variety of types of criminal cases including homicides, child abuse, vehicular homicides, securities fraud and mortgage fraud, to name a few. One advantage of the grand jury is that they have the unique ability to obtain records not generally available to prosecutors in other investigations. They also have the ability to require reluctant witnesses to testify through the use of grand jury subpoenas.
Historically, there has been one grand jury serving the First Judicial District that meets one evening a week, twice a month.
District Attorney Scott Storey decided to empanel a second grand jury when he took office in January 2005, to handle only identity theft and other financial crimes. This grand jury meets one day a week, twice a month.
Grand juries are comprised of twelve citizens just like any other jury. They are selected completely at random from voter registration rolls and Department of Motor Vehicle?s list of registered drivers.
Identity Theft Team
In response to the complex nature of identity theft investigations, District Attorney Scott Storey created an Identity Theft Team in Jefferson County in January, 2007. This collaboration of law enforcement agencies pools their resources in investigating these crimes which often occur across many different jurisdictions. This approach decreases the cost to any one agency and provides a quicker, more specialized investigative team approach to identity thieves who often work in organized groups.
Member agencies include: the Jefferson County Sheriff, Lakewood Police Department, Arvada Police Department, Golden Police Department, Wheat Ridge Police Department, Edgewater Police Department, Lakeside Police Department, Westminster Police Department, Mountain View Police Department, Morrison Police Department, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, West Metro Drug Task Force, Black Hawk Police Department, United State Postal Inspection Services, and the United States Social Services.
Last Modified: Sep 21, 2010 01:23 PM
