Assembly votes on identity theft

Wednesday, April 14, 1999 | 11:47 a.m.

Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, says her AB71 is needed because there's a big problem nationally with people stealing others' identification papers and using the documents to avoid prosecution for criminal activity.

One of the victims was Forrest Burke of Douglas County who suffered for years after his social security number and ID were stolen at a party. The thief destroyed Burke's credit and committed a number of crimes before joining the Army under his stolen name.

Burke said he lost job opportunities and was repeatedly denied even basic credit. He finally couldn't even get a driver's license until his fiancee went to Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., for help.

Bryan fixed Burke's problem, getting him a completely new and clean social security number and identification. He also pushed through federal legislation making identity theft a crime.

Buckley said AB71 makes identity theft a felony in Nevada, provides for restitution and "the cost of restoring a person's credit." She said it also allows a person to file a civil action against the thief and to file a complaint with consumer reporting agencies to make sure the damage is minimized.

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