(1) A person is guilty of the theft of the identity of another when he or she knowingly
possesses or uses any current or former identifying information of the other person
or family member or ancestor of the other person, such as that person's or family
member's or ancestor's name, address, telephone number, electronic mail address,
Social Security number, driver's license number, birth date, personal identification
number or code, and any other information which could be used to identify the
person, including unique biometric data, with the intent to represent that he or she is
the other person for the purpose of:
(a) Depriving the other person of property;
(b) Obtaining benefits or property to which he or she would otherwise not be
entitled;
(c) Making financial or credit transactions using the other person's identity;
(d) Avoiding detection; or
(e) Commercial or political benefit.
(2) Theft of identity is a Class D felony. If the person violating this section is a business
that has violated this section on more than one (1) occasion, then that person also
violates the Consumer Protection Act, KRS 367.110 to 367.300.
(3) This section shall not apply when a person obtains the identity of another to
misrepresent his or her age for the purpose of obtaining alcoholic beverages,
tobacco, or another privilege denied to minors.
(4) This section does not apply to credit or debit card fraud under KRS 434.550 to
434.730.
(5) Where the offense consists of theft by obtaining or trafficking in the personal
identity of another person, the venue of the prosecution may be in either the county
where the offense was committed or the county where the other person resides.
(6) A person found guilty of violating any provisions of this section shall forfeit any
lawful claim to the identifying information, property, or other realized benefit of the
other person as a result of such violation.
Effective: July 15, 2002
History: Amended 2002 Ky. Acts ch. 175, sec. 8, effective July 15, 2002. -- Created
2000 Ky. Acts ch. 174, sec. 1, effective July 14, 2000.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
11
cases (
4 in the last 5 years), 2005–2026 · leading case:
Commonwealth v. Goss, 428 S.W.3d 619 (Ky. 2014).
Commonwealth v. Goss, 428 S.W.3d 619 (Ky. 2014).
· cites it 15× “The Appellee, Christine Goss, was convicted of two counts of theft of identity under KRS 514.160 and found to be a persistent felony offender.”
Crouch v. Commonwealth, 323 S.W.3d 668 (Ky. 2010).
· cites it 12× “KRS 514.160 governs the offense of theft of identity.”
State v. Mayze, 622 S.E.2d 836 (Ga. 2005).
· cites it 2× “8 (5)); Kentucky (KRS § 514.160 (5)); Maryland (MD Code, Criminal Law, § 8-301 (m) (2)); Michigan (M.”
Leger v. Commonwealth, 400 S.W.3d 745 (Ky. 2013).
“§ 110, from a judgment of the Rockcastle Circuit Court convicting him of one count of theft of identity (KRS 514.160) and one count of theft by deception under $500.”
McNeil v. Commonwealth, 468 S.W.3d 858 (Ky. 2015).
“KRS 514.160(4) states expressly that the identity theft statute does not encompass credit or debit card fraud, rendering the charge against Goss legally erroneous to the extent it was based on fraudulently obtaining and using a credit card.”
Russell v. Commonwealth, 239 S.W.3d 578 (Ky. Ct. App. 2007).
· cites it 3× “This concern is unfounded, however, since KRS 514.160(4) provides that the identity theft statute “does not apply to credit or debit card fraud under KRS 434.”
Kenneth Lamont Boone Jr v. Commonwealth of Kentucky (Ky. Ct. App. 2021).
“As it pertains to this case, Boone committed the felony offense of theft of identity of another pursuant to KRS 514.160(1) if he: knowingly possesse[d] or use[d] any current or former identifying information of the other person or family member or ancestor of the other person,…”
Commonwealth of Kentucky v. Kenneth Lamont Boone, Jr. (Ky. 2022).
“3 The felony offense of theft of identity is governed by KRS 514.160, which provides, in pertinent part: (1) A person is guilty of the theft of the identity of another when he or she knowingly possesses or uses any current or former identifying information of the other person or…”
Snyder v. Kentucky Bar Ass'n, 320 S.W.3d 679 (Ky. 2010).
“KRS 514.160. Second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument is also a Class D felony.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 514.160(1) — 4 cases
Commonwealth v. Goss, 428 S.W.3d 619 (Ky. 2014).
“The Appellee, Christine Goss, was convicted of two counts of theft of identity under KRS 514.160 and found to be a persistent felony offender.”
Kenneth Lamont Boone Jr v. Commonwealth of Kentucky (Ky. Ct. App. 2021).
“As it pertains to this case, Boone committed the felony offense of theft of identity of another pursuant to KRS 514.160(1) if he: knowingly possesse[d] or use[d] any current or former identifying information of the other person or family member or ancestor of the other person,…”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 514.160(2) — 2 cases
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 514.160(4) — 3 cases
Commonwealth v. Goss, 428 S.W.3d 619 (Ky. 2014).
“The Appellee, Christine Goss, was convicted of two counts of theft of identity under KRS 514.160 and found to be a persistent felony offender.”
McNeil v. Commonwealth, 468 S.W.3d 858 (Ky. 2015).
“KRS 514.160(4) states expressly that the identity theft statute does not encompass credit or debit card fraud, rendering the charge against Goss legally erroneous to the extent it was based on fraudulently obtaining and using a credit card.”
Russell v. Commonwealth, 239 S.W.3d 578 (Ky. Ct. App. 2007).
“This concern is unfounded, however, since KRS 514.160(4) provides that the identity theft statute “does not apply to credit or debit card fraud under KRS 434.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 514.160(5) — 1 case
State v. Mayze, 622 S.E.2d 836 (Ga. 2005).
“8 (5)); Kentucky (KRS § 514.160 (5)); Maryland (MD Code, Criminal Law, § 8-301 (m) (2)); Michigan (M.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 514.160(6) — 1 case
Russell v. Commonwealth, 239 S.W.3d 578 (Ky. Ct. App. 2007).
“This concern is unfounded, however, since KRS 514.160(4) provides that the identity theft statute “does not apply to credit or debit card fraud under KRS 434.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 514.160(l)(b) — 1 case
Commonwealth v. Goss, 428 S.W.3d 619 (Ky. 2014).
“The Appellee, Christine Goss, was convicted of two counts of theft of identity under KRS 514.160 and found to be a persistent felony offender.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 514.160(l)(d) — 1 case
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.