March 26, 2007

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  NEWS: Judge Irked at Lack of ID Theft Restitution

  U.S. District Judge Paul Cassell of Utah is upset about the lack of restitution available to identity theft victims for loss of free time and resources, according to a memorandum issued after his ruling in the trial of a convicted identity thief.
  
  Cassell recently presided over the trial of Ruby Teresa Garcia, who pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft. Garcia broke into the car of a working mother only identified as "H.F." by court documents when the victim was working out at a gym. Garcia made off with H.F.'s purse, with contained her charge cards, driver's license, Social Security card, gift certificates and keys for work. Cassell ordered Garcia to pay back the $6,839 in fraudulent charges made on H.F.'s credit cards to the two credit card banks involved. Luckily, H.F. was not held accountable for the charges when Garcia stole her identity, but Cassell expressed regret that there was no legal mechanism in place to charge Garcia with paying back the lost time and emotional distress H.F. had to expend in dealing with the issue.
  
  Cassell's memorandum mentioned that H.F. had written a letter to the court expressing her frustration over the matter and fear over whose hands her identity had fallen into. She recounted making her husband change the locks on their home, and the aggravation of having to close and reopen her bank accounts, credit cards, and replace all her identification and the contents of the purse. Cassell wrote that the Judicial Conference, which handles federal court policy administration, favors legislation that would allow judges to assign restitution to identity thieves as they see fit, to compensate for the victims' loss of free time and emotional distress.
  
  
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