“Criminal Impersonation” – Colorado Law – § 18-5-113 CRS

Colorado Revised Statute § 18-5-113 defines criminal impersonation. This is unlawfully pretending to be someone else to gain some benefit, or to harm, the subject of the impersonation.

The crime is also commonly referred to as false personation or false impersonation.

Below, our Denver Colorado criminal defense lawyers discuss the following topics re. criminal impersonation:

• 1. Elements
• 2. Penalties
• 3. Defenses
• 4. Impersonating a Peace Officer
• Additional Reading

CRS 18-5-113 makes it a felony to commit criminal impersonation.

1. Elements

Colorado law prohibits pretending to be someone else to gain some benefit or to harm the subject of the impersonation.

Specifically, criminal impersonation is defined as knowingly assuming a fake identity to either:

• get married,
• confess a judgment,
• become bail or surety for someone in a legal proceeding,
• harm the falsely impersonated person,
• unlawfully gain a benefit for yourself, or
• defraud or injure another person.

A few examples of this crime include:

• Sam posts bail with the local court to get his friend out of jail after the friend’s assault arrest. However, to do that, he poses as his brother, using his ID and credit card to do it.
• Carolyn poses as a former friend she dislikes, but looks very similar to. She enters a jewelry store, using her former friend’s ID to get a line of credit to purchase an expensive bracelet. She gives the store all of her former friend’s information and places the debt on her.
• John is engaged to marry Fiona, and tells her he went to the court to get a marriage license. He never gets the license because he is already married to another person. He goes through with the wedding ceremony, but lies when he says the marriage certificate is filed and they are both legally married.¹

2. Penalties

The sentence in Colorado for committing criminal impersonation depends on the circumstances of the case, as the following table shows.

You can learn more about the differences between a felony and a misdemeanor here.²

Other Consequences

If you are convicted of a felony, you will have difficulty:

• passing a background check;
• applying for certain licenses;
• finding and maintaining employment;
• obtaining a loan through a bank or other lender; and
• facing assumptions about your trustworthiness and character.

3. Defenses

Here at Colorado Legal Defense Group, we have represented countless people charged with fraud crimes such as criminal impersonation. In our experience, the following three defenses have proven very effective with prosecutors, judges, and juries.

1. No Impersonation Ever Occurred: In some cases, the conduct that police and prosecutors call impersonation does not fit the definition (or in the case of marriage, is done with the knowledge of the other party).
2. No Underlying Crimes Occurred: Impersonation alone is not enough – another one of the listed acts must also occur, and it must also be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
3. The Impersonation Was Not Criminal: If impersonation did occur, but there was no intent to defraud, then no crime has occurred.

Example: Clark dresses as his friend Andy, to whom he looks very similar, to play a friendly prank on one of their mutual teachers. It is simply a joke, and Clark never takes a test or gains any benefit from the impersonation. Clark cannot be charged criminally, as he never had an intent to defraud.

4. Impersonating a Peace Officer

The related offense of impersonating a peace officer occurs when you:

• falsely pretend to be a police officer and
• perform an act while pretending that role.³

Impersonating a peace officer in Colorado is a class 5 felony, carrying:

• 1 to 3 years in prison;
• $1,000 to $100,000; and
• mandatory parole period of one year.

Additional Reading

For more in-depth information, refer to the following scholarly articles:

• Legal regulation of impersonation through websites – Journal of Electronic Security and Digital Forensics.
• Legal Aspects of Self Impersonation Activities In Related To Intended Personality and Identification Rights Violations – International Journal of Multidisciplinary and Current Educational Research.
• We Are Not Who We Pretend to Be: ODR Alternatives to Online Impersonation Statutes – Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution.
• The Impostor Rule and the Nature of Forgery under the Revised Uniform Commercial Code: A Doctrinal Analysis and Some Suggestions for the Drafting Committee – American Business Law Journal.
• Online Impersonation: I Have a Right to Be Left Alone v. You Can’t Mandate How I Use My Privacy Toolbox – The University of Illinois Timely Tech online journal.

Legal References: