A Tulsa County woman was recently arrested using her sister’s name in an effort to dodge warrants.  She also faces warrant arrest on charges of animal cruelty and child neglect.  She is now facing false impersonation charges on top of these other pending charges.  Other forms of false impersonation include:  false representation of yourself in a marriage, giving a false name to bail officers, or using another’s name to make them liable for your actions.

False Impersonation Laws in Oklahoma

For the State to be able to charge you with a false impersonation crime, certain elements must exist.  First, you must assume the character or name of another person.  Assuming the character means that you also act like the person and don’t simply only take their name.  Second, you must intentionally assume the name or character of another person.  Finally, your actions must make the victim legally liable in some way.  For instance, using someone’s name to sign a fraudulent check is making them liable for check fraud.

Similar to the incident above, in the Oklahoma case Camren v. State, a man assumed his brother’s identity when pulled over by an officer.  The man was attempting to cover up that he was driving under suspension.  When the man signed the ticket using his brother’s name, he made his brother liable for paying the ticket.  The catch is, his brother was not alive.  The man faced false impersonation charges due to this act.

Check out our Oklahoma criminal defense blog for more interesting articles.

Penalties For False Impersonation

Oklahoma law considers false impersonation a felony crime.  As a result, anyone committing the crime may receive up to 10 years’ imprisonment.  The victim may also sue you in civil court to recover financial damages that your actions may cause by assuming their identity.  In some case, this could be thousands and thousands of dollars.

Call Our Tulsa County Criminal Defense Lawyers

The criminal defense attorneys at Tulsa County Lawyers Group understand that sometimes making a split decision to try and get around the law can cost you big.  Don’t let a mistake or bad judgment call send you to jail.  Call our office at 918-379-4864 for a free consultation. Or you can ask a free online criminal defense question by following this link.