NY State Senate Bill 2009-S6779

Senate Bill S6779

2009-2010 Legislative Session

Establishes the inmate fraud act, which creates the crime of inmate fraud, allows inmates accounts to be frozen and establishes the victims of inmates fraud fund

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Feb 04, 2010	referred to codes

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2009-S6779 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Penal Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §10.00, add §190.87, Pen L; add §80, Cor L; add §99-t, St Fin L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2011-2012: S1104
2013-2014: S3104

2009-S6779 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Establishes the inmate fraud act, which creates the crime of inmate fraud, allows inmates' accounts to be frozen and establishes the victims of inmate fraud fund.

2009-S6779 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S6779

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing the crime
of inmate fraud, to amend the correction law, in relation to freezing
accounts of inmates and to amend the state finance law, in relation to
establishing the victims of inmate fraud fund


 PURPOSE :

The purpose of this legislation is to protect the public from frauds
perpetrated by inmates of correctional institutions, and to establish
a fund to recompense victims of such frauds.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section one is the short title, which provides the act shall be known
as the "inmate fraud act."

Section two amends section 10.00 of the penal law by adding a new
subdivision 21 that defines the term "inmate," for the purposes of
section 190.87 of the penal law , to mean a person who is in the
custody of the department of corrections, a sheriff, a county jail or
a secure facility.

Section three amends the penal law by adding a new section, 190.87,
which provides for the elements of the crime of inmate fraud, which is
a class C felony.

Section four amends the correction law by adding a new section 80,
which provides the procedures the department will follow upon
reasonable suspicion of inmate fraud. Such procedures will provide due
process to the alleged perpetrator, and restitution to the victim, if
inmate fraud is found to have occurred.

Section five amends the state finance law by adding a new section
99-t, which creates the "victims of inmate fraud fund" in the custody
of the state comptroller. This fund shall be used to hold funds
resulting from inmate fraud that have been unable to be returned to
the victim of such fraud.

 JUSTIFICATION :

Fraud committed by inmates upon the general public is a widespread
problem. In 2006, for example, a group of inmates in Michigan were
convicted of running a tax fraud and identity theft operation from
their prison cells which resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars
being obtained by fraud. (See release by Attorney General Mike Cox,
http://www.michigan.gov/ag/0,1607,7-164-34739 34811-150774--.00. html,
last visited on February 3, 2010.) Another example comes from a story
that ran on January 25, 2010 in the San Jose Mercury, described a
credit card and identity theft ring run by a California prison inmate
that defrauded credit card companies out of more than $130,000. On a
nationwide basis, the examples of such inmate-perpetrated fraud are
too numerous to list here.

This legislation amends New York's penal and correction laws to
protect New Yorkers from identity theft, theft of telecommunications
services, credit card theft, and a variety of other types of inmate
fraud that victimize the innocent. Other states have enacted similar
legislation, such as: Indiana, in 2008; Illinois, in 2009; Florida,
which amended its law in 2000; and various counties in Texas.


The purpose of these laws is to ensure that incarcerated criminals who
commit crimes while imprisoned are properly penalized, and to
effectuate restitution to the victims of these criminal schemes.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

New Bill

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

To be determined.

 LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding
the date on which it shall have become law.

2009-S6779 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  6779

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            February 4, 2010
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes

AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing the crime  of
  inmate  fraud,  to  amend  the correction law, in relation to freezing
  accounts of inmates and to amend the state finance law, in relation to
  establishing the victims of inmate fraud fund

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  This  act  shall be known and may be cited as "the inmate
fraud act".
  S 2. Section 10.00 of the penal law is amended by adding a new  subdi-
vision 21 to read as follows:
  21.  FOR PURPOSES OF SECTION 190.87 OF THIS CHAPTER, THE TERM "INMATE"
SHALL MEAN A PERSON WHO IS CONFINED IN THE CUSTODY OF THE DEPARTMENT  OF
CORRECTION, A SHERIFF, A COUNTY JAIL OR A SECURE JUVENILE FACILITY.
  S  3.  The penal law is amended by adding a new section 190.87 to read
as follows:
S 190.87 INMATE FRAUD.
  AN INMATE WHO, WITH THE INTENT OF OBTAINING MONEY  OR  OTHER  PROPERTY
FROM  A  PERSON WHO IS NOT AN INMATE, KNOWINGLY OR INTENTIONALLY MAKES A
MISREPRESENTATION TO A PERSON WHO  IS  NOT  AN  INMATE  AND  OBTAINS  OR
ATTEMPTS TO OBTAIN MONEY OR OTHER PROPERTY FROM THE PERSON WHO IS NOT AN
INMATE;  OR  OBTAINS  OR ATTEMPTS TO OBTAIN MONEY OR OTHER PROPERTY FROM
THE PERSON WHO IS NOT AN INMATE  THROUGH  A  MISREPRESENTATION  MADE  BY
ANOTHER PERSON IS GUILTY OF INMATE FRAUD.
  INMATE FRAUD IS A CLASS C FELONY.
  S  4. The correction law is amended by adding a new section 80 to read
as follows:
  S 80. INMATE FRAUD; FREEZING INMATE ACCOUNTS.   1. IF  THE  DEPARTMENT
HAS  REASONABLE  SUSPICION THAT MONEY IN AN INMATE'S ACCOUNT WAS DERIVED
FROM THE COMMISSION OF INMATE FRAUD, AS DEFINED IN SECTION 190.87 OF THE
PENAL LAW, THE DEPARTMENT MAY FREEZE ALL  OR  A  PART  OF  THE  INMATE'S
ACCOUNT  FOR  NOT MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY DAYS WHILE THE DEPARTMENT
CONDUCTS AN INVESTIGATION TO DETERMINE WHETHER  MONEY  IN  THE  INMATE'S

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                           LBD15341-01-0

S. 6779                             2

ACCOUNT DERIVES FROM INMATE FRAUD. IF THE DEPARTMENT FREEZES THE ACCOUNT
OF  AN INMATE UNDER THIS SECTION, THE DEPARTMENT SHALL NOTIFY THE INMATE
IN WRITING.
  2.  IF  THE  DEPARTMENT'S  INVESTIGATION  REVEALS THAT NO MONEY IN THE
INMATE'S ACCOUNT WAS DERIVED FROM INMATE  FRAUD,  THE  DEPARTMENT  SHALL
UNFREEZE THE ACCOUNT AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE INVESTIGATION.
  3.  IF  THE  DEPARTMENT'S  INVESTIGATION  REVEALS  THAT  MONEY  IN THE
INMATE'S ACCOUNT MAY HAVE BEEN DERIVED FROM  THE  COMMISSION  OF  INMATE
FRAUD,  THE  DEPARTMENT  SHALL  NOTIFY  THE  PROSECUTING ATTORNEY OF THE
RESULTS OF THE DEPARTMENT'S INVESTIGATION.
  4. IF THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY CHARGES THE INMATE WITH  INMATE  FRAUD,
THE  DEPARTMENT SHALL FREEZE THE INMATE'S ACCOUNT UNTIL THE CASE REACHES
FINAL JUDGMENT.
  5. IF THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY DOES NOT CHARGE THE INMATE WITH  INMATE
FRAUD,  OR IF THE INMATE IS ACQUITTED OF THE CHARGE OF INMATE FRAUD, THE
DEPARTMENT SHALL UNFREEZE THE INMATE'S ACCOUNT.
  6. IF THE INMATE IS CONVICTED OF  INMATE  FRAUD,  THE  DEPARTMENT,  IN
CONSULTATION  WITH  THE  PROSECUTING ATTORNEY, SHALL LOCATE THE MONEY OR
PROPERTY DERIVED FROM INMATE FRAUD AND RETURN IT TO THE RIGHTFUL OWNER.
  7. IF, NINETY DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF AN INMATE'S CONVICTION FOR INMATE
FRAUD, THE DEPARTMENT HAS LOCATED THE MONEY OR PROPERTY DERIVED FROM THE
COMMISSION OF INMATE FRAUD BUT IS UNABLE TO  RETURN  THE  MONEY  TO  THE
RIGHTFUL OWNER, THE DEPARTMENT SHALL DEPOSIT THE MONEY IN THE VICTIMS OF
INMATE  FRAUD  FUND  ESTABLISHED  BY  SECTION NINETY-NINE-T OF THE STATE
FINANCE LAW.
  8. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION HELD BY THE DEPARTMENT ABOUT A PERSON  WHO
HAS  BEEN COMMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT SHALL BE DISCLOSED TO A PERSON WHO
IS OR MAY BE THE VICTIM OF INMATE FRAUD IF THE  COMMISSIONER  DETERMINES
THAT  THE  INTEREST IN DISCLOSURE OVERRIDES THE INTEREST TO BE SERVED BY
NONDISCLOSURE OR IF THE COMMISSIONER DETERMINES THERE EXISTS  A  COMPEL-
LING  PUBLIC  INTEREST FOR DISCLOSURE WHICH OVERRIDES THE INTEREST TO BE
SERVED BY NONDISCLOSURE.
  S 5. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 99-t  to
read as follows:
  S 99-T. VICTIM OF INMATE FRAUD FUND. 1. THERE IS HEREBY ESTABLISHED IN
THE  CUSTODY  OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER A SPECIAL FUND TO BE KNOWN AS THE
"VICTIMS OF INMATE FRAUD FUND".
  2. THE VICTIMS OF INMATE FRAUD FUND SHALL CONSIST OF MONEYS  DEPOSITED
THEREIN   PURSUANT  TO  SUBDIVISION  SEVEN  OF  SECTION  EIGHTY  OF  THE
CORRECTION LAW.
  3. THE MONEYS IN THE INMATE FRAUD FUND SHALL BE KEPT SEPARATE FROM AND
SHALL NOT BE COMMINGLED WITH ANY OTHER MONEYS  IN  THE  CUSTODY  OF  THE
STATE COMPTROLLER. SUCH MONEYS SHALL BE ALLOCATED TO AND EXPENDED BY THE
DEPARTMENT  OF  CORRECTIONS  SOLELY  FOR  THE  PURPOSE  OF ADMINISTERING
SECTION EIGHTY OF THE CORRECTION LAW.
  S 6. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
ing the date on which it shall have become a law.

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Senate Bill S6779

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Sponsored By

Kevin S. Parker