For Immediate
Release: June 7, 2004
Audio
Clip
Sen. Mike Johnson and Identity Theft victim Danielle Robertson
Bill to Help Identity Theft Victims Signed
After unanimous legislative approval, State
Sen. Mike
Johnson said he was pleased that Gov. Brad
Henry has signed a bill to help protect victims of identity
theft. Johnson, R-Kingfisher, is principal author of Senate
Bill 1164 which creates an “Identity Theft Passport”
to protect innocent victims from arrest or other legal actions.
“While the digital age provides many benefits, it
also has a dark side in the form of identity theft. Oklahoma
is now one of the first states to address the nightmare
identity theft victims go through when they’re falsely
accused,” Johnson said.
Senator Johnson said he wrote SB 1164 after hearing from
a constituent who had been a victim of identity theft. After
her purse was stolen, the thief used the contents to set
up credit card accounts in her name. The victim notified
all the companies and the necessary state and federal agencies.
But to her horror, two years later she was arrested on a
warrant out of Florida for credit card fraud.
Cashion resident Danielle Robertson spent 18 hours in jail
before being released. Robertson said when she was put in
jail, she was in shock.
“Something this terrible had been done to me and I
was going to be punished for it. There was nothing I could
do about it,” Robertson said.
After being released, she was told that the same thing could
happen again. Fearful of the threat of another arrest, Robertson
contacted Senator Johnson and asked if there was anything
he could do. After researching the situation, he authored
the legislation creating an identity theft passport.
“This measure will give identity theft victims greater
protection from arrest or other legal actions as a result
of crimes committed by the person who assumed their identity,”
Johnson said. “While much of the identity theft legislation
we’ve seen in the past has targeted the criminal,
this bill was written to provide some aid to the victims.”
The new law, which was co-authored by Rep. Susan
Winchester, R-Chickasha, calls for the creation of a
special passport for victims of identity theft to use with
law enforcement and other public safety authorities.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) will administer
the Oklahoma Identity Theft Passport Program.
In order to qualify for the passport, the victim must file
an identity theft report with a federal, state or local
law enforcement agency and provide the report, an identity
theft affidavit and supporting documentation to a consumer
reporting agency.
Danielle Robertson said she was pleased to find out that
contacting her state senator made a difference.
“I think it’s great. A lot of people think that
one person can’t make a difference and that it doesn’t
matter if you talk to your government officials, but I figured
someone would help me. I wrote letters to everyone I could.
Senator Johnson was great. I’m thankful that he helped
me out and actually did something about it,” Robertson
said.
Senator Johnson said he appreciated Danielle sharing her
story and wanted to make sure Oklahomans knew that this
legislation had been signed into law. Johnson also hoped
to see Danielle become the first person to obtain an identity
theft passport.
For
more information contact:
Senate
Communications Office - (405) 521-5774
