Bob, i'm not saying you are wrong. but every state is diffrent. every state laws are different. like someone mentioned before anything over $400 is a felony. Well in my home state it's anything over 250 is a felony. And they DO give a crap. Not trying to make this harder by gonig back and forth but "the cops aren't going to give a crap about 8 grand'? seriously? I've seen them go after guys for just forging a single check for $200 bucks! I've seen guys get prison time for using someone else card that only totaled up to around 2k! They care! THE COPS CARE!!! it's how far the COURTS are going to pursue it afterwards that's the question! Anything over 1k in my original home state is GRAND Larceny and Yeah they take that very seriously.
You are correct, it varies depending on location/geography. I live in a very large city/metropolitan area. I believe we are #1 in the nation for home invasions, which keep LE very busy.
When I spoke with LE, they said that if I came in and pressed charges they would not get my money back. A conviction was just the first step in the process.
They told me that the ID fraud (taking a credit card offer out in my name) is the bigger deal. ID theft is a very politically "hot" issue, and LE are after the good press they can get if they nail an ID criminal. I was also told that the feds were very interested in demonstrating that they were taking ID theft seriously. It is a politically "hot" issue. Catching an ID thief is much more glamorous than catching someone stealing $22k.
The potential jail time is also more, YMMV.
I went back to the person whole stole my ID. I showed them how much jail time they could get, and I got a good chunk of money back. Here are some of the new federal laws. Constituents are screaming, that government do something. Think about it, put yourself in GS's place. Stealing money is bad, but ID theft is a more major and personal fuck you.
Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act
Congress passed the Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act in 2004. This law instituted a mandatory minimum prison sentence of two years for those convicted of certain felony identity theft crimes, as well as restricted the courts from imposing probation sentences on offenders. The law also expanded the definition of identity theft at the federal level to apply to possession of false identification with intent to commit a specified unlawful act and acts of domestic terrorism.
Restitution Penalties
Those convicted of identity theft at the state level often must make restitution to any victims that sustained financial loss as a result of fraud or theft. For example, in Arkansas any costs incurred by a victim in reestablishing his credit history or correcting his credit rating, costs incurred in answering any civil litigation as the result of false debt, and any lost wages or attorney's fees, must be repaid by the perpetrator. These financial penalties can accrue without limitation. Here is a summary of the tougher laws (source, ehow
What Is the Sentence for Identity Theft? | eHow)
Felony Identity Theft
Felony identity theft is often categorized in tiered systems based on the amount of financial loss resulting from the crime or through the amount of identifying information stolen. Identity theft in amounts as low as $1,000 can result in a jail sentence of up to 180 days, whereas identity theft in amounts of $100,000 or more can result in prison sentences of up to 20 years. Total jail times for specific amounts of financial loss vary by state.
What this means is that the penalty for stealing money, and the penalty for stealing someones ID are stacked upon each other.
Kind of like stacking 400 mgs of tren on 400 mgs of test.