ID Theft Law Covers Stealing Dead Person’s Identity

The federal aggravated identity theft statute makes it a crime to use a dead person’s identity, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held May 21 (United States v. Zuniga-Arteaga, 11th Cir., No. 11-11673). The statute makes it illegal to use a “means of identification of another person,” 18 U.S.C. §1028A(a)(1). Although Congress did not define the term “person,” the text, structure, and purpose of the statute make clear that the law does not distinguish between the living and the dead, the court said. This result is consistent with the approach followed in other ...