Identity Theft Criminal Charges in Florida: Why the Base Charge Is Already a Felony

In Florida, “identity theft” is charged as criminal use of personal identification information under Section 817.568, Florida Statutes — and unlike ordinary theft, there is no misdemeanor entry point for fraudulent use. Using another person’s identifying information without consent to commit fraud is a third-degree felony from the first dollar, punishable by up to 5 years in prison. The charge escalates fast: at $5,000 in benefit or 10 victims it becomes a second-degree felony with a mandatory minimum of 3 years, and at the top of the ladder the statute requires a 10-year minimum. If federal prosecutors take the case instead, aggravated identity theft adds a mandatory 2-year sentence that must run consecutively to everything else.

This article explains:

• What counts as “personal identification information” — it is broader than most people expect
• The full penalty ladder, including Florida’s mandatory minimum sentences
• Who the statute protects with enhanced penalties
• When identity theft becomes a federal case, and what changes when it does
• What the State has to prove, and where these cases are actually fought

This article provides general legal information and is not a substitute for advice based on the specific facts of a case.

What counts as “personal identification information”

The statute’s definition covers far more than Social Security numbers. Under § 817.568(1)(f), personal identification information means any name or number that can be used to identify a specific person, including a name, address, Social Security number, driver license number, bank account number, credit or debit card number, medical records, biometric data, and any “other number or information that can be used to access a person’s financial resources.”

Two things follow from that breadth:

• Everyday conduct can qualify. Using an ex-partner’s login to move money, putting a relative’s name on a utility account, or completing an application with someone else’s Social Security number all involve “personal identification information” as the statute defines it.
• The information does not have to be stolen. The offense is the fraudulent use of the information without consent — how the accused came to possess it is a separate question. Information that was lawfully known, shared in a past relationship, or simply remembered can still support a charge if it was later used without authorization.

The penalty ladder: dollar amounts, victim counts, and mandatory minimums

The core offense, § 817.568(2)(a), is committed by a person who “fraudulently uses, or possesses with intent to fraudulently use,” another person’s identifying information without consent. The grading then turns on two numbers — the value of the fraud and the number of people whose information was involved — with maximum penalties set by § 775.082 and § 775.083:

Conduct	Charge	Mandatory minimum	Maximum penalty
Fraudulent use of another’s information, any amount	3rd-degree felony	None	5 years, $5,000 fine
Benefit or injury of $5,000+, or information of 10–19 people	2nd-degree felony	3 years	15 years, $10,000 fine
Benefit or injury of $50,000+, or information of 20–29 people	1st-degree felony	5 years	30 years, $10,000 fine
Benefit or injury of $100,000+, or information of 30+ people	1st-degree felony	10 years	30 years, $10,000 fine
Using another’s information to harass (no fraud element)	1st-degree misdemeanor	None	1 year, $1,000 fine

Three features of this ladder deserve emphasis:

• The mandatory minimums are real floors. Most Florida theft and fraud offenses leave sentencing to the scoresheet and the judge. Section 817.568 is different: once the State proves the $5,000 threshold, the statute prescribes a minimum prison term. That changes the negotiating posture of these cases from the first day. The broader charging framework these counts often ride alongside — organized fraud under § 817.034, also a felony at any amount — is covered in Criminal Charges for Fraud in Florida.
• Victim count matters as much as dollars. A data set with 30 people’s information can reach the 10-year-minimum tier even if the proven dollar figure is modest. Cases built on seized lists, skimmers, or databases are graded by headcount, not just loss.
• The harassment provision is the one non-fraud path. Using someone’s identifying information to harass them — without any attempt at financial gain — is a first-degree misdemeanor under § 817.568(4). How Florida’s misdemeanor system works is covered in Misdemeanor Criminal Charges in Florida.

Who the statute singles out for harsher treatment

The Legislature has layered additional protections into § 817.568 for specific victims. Using the identifying information of a minor, a person 60 years of age or older, a disabled adult, or certain public servants carries elevated penalties, and the statute separately criminalizes fraudulent use of a deceased person’s identifying information — a common feature of benefits-fraud and tax-refund cases. The details of each enhancement are technical, but the theme is consistent: the categories prosecutors most often see in fraud files are exactly the ones the statute punishes hardest.

Restitution in these cases also goes beyond the fraud amount itself: the statute directs courts to include the victim’s costs of repairing the damage — including attorney’s fees incurred in clearing a credit history — and it allows prosecution in the county where the victim lives, not just where the accused acted. An identity theft case can therefore land in a courthouse the accused has never set foot near.

When identity theft becomes a federal case

Identity theft sits in both systems, and the federal side is built differently. Two statutes do most of the work:

	Florida — § 817.568	Federal — §§ 1028, 1028A
Core offense	Fraudulent use of personal identification information without consent	18 U.S.C. § 1028(a)(7): transfer, possession, or use of another’s means of identification in connection with unlawful activity
How it’s graded	Dollar value of the fraud and number of victims	Up to 15 years if anything of value totaling $1,000+ is obtained in a year; up to 5 years otherwise; more for drug or violent crime connections
Mandatory minimums	3, 5, or 10 years at the higher tiers	§ 1028A: a flat 2 years, consecutive, when identity theft accompanies an enumerated felony
Sentence stacking	Mandatory minimum applies to the identity theft count itself	The 2 years cannot run concurrently with the underlying fraud sentence, and probation is not available for it
Typical setting	Local fraud, single or few victims	Multi-victim schemes, tax-refund fraud, benefits fraud, cases investigated by federal agencies

Aggravated identity theft under § 1028A is the provision that changes federal plea dynamics more than any other: when a wire fraud, bank fraud, or benefits fraud case includes the use of a real person’s identity, the government can attach a charge that adds two years on top of whatever the underlying fraud produces — by statute, not by guideline. Multi-defendant identity theft cases also routinely carry conspiracy counts, which follow their own — often harsher — federal rules; we break those down in Criminal Conspiracy Charges in Florida. And the two systems differ on bail, sentencing, and much more, which we compare in What Are Federal Criminal Charges — and How Are They Different From State Charges in Florida?

What the State must prove — and where these cases are fought

A § 817.568 prosecution requires proof that the accused fraudulently used (or possessed with intent to fraudulently use) the information, without the person’s consent. Each element is a live issue:

• Consent. Family members, spouses, ex-partners, and business associates share financial information constantly — account access, authorized cards, co-signed applications. Whether use was authorized, and whether authorization had actually been withdrawn, is the central dispute in a large share of these cases.
• Fraudulent intent. Using information carelessly, or under a genuine belief of entitlement — a partner paying a shared bill from a joint account, an employee following what they understood to be instructions — is not the same as using it with intent to defraud.
• Identity of the user. Digital fraud cases must connect a specific person to the transactions. An IP address, a device, or an account login is the beginning of that proof, not the end — shared devices and compromised accounts are real phenomena, and the State’s forensic chain deserves scrutiny.
• The State’s arithmetic. Because both the dollar figure and the victim count move the mandatory minimums, the defense has every reason to test how the State calculated each — what is actually supported by records, and what was double-counted or assumed.

None of this means these cases are easy — but the elements are where the defense starts, and in a statute built on thresholds, the difference between $4,900 and $5,100 is the difference between a probation-eligible felony and a 3-year floor.

If you believe your own identity has been stolen, the Federal Trade Commission’s IdentityTheft.gov is the official portal for reporting it and generating a recovery plan.

The bottom line

Florida treats identity theft as a felony from the first use, grades it by dollar amount and victim count, and — unusually for a fraud offense — attaches mandatory minimum prison terms as the numbers climb. The federal system runs in parallel with its own two-year consecutive hammer. What both systems share is that the case is usually assembled from records — bank logs, applications, device data — before an arrest ever happens, which means the time to involve a defense attorney is at the first sign of an investigation, not after charges are filed. MK Law’s partners are trial attorneys who defend fraud and identity theft cases in both Florida and federal courts — contact us or call 954.865.6032.

Frequently asked questions

Is identity theft a felony in Florida?

Yes — fraudulent use of another person’s identifying information without consent is a third-degree felony even for a first offense and a small amount, under § 817.568(2)(a). Higher dollar amounts or multiple victims raise it to a second- or first-degree felony with mandatory minimum prison terms. The only misdemeanor version is using someone’s information to harass them, with no fraud involved.

What if the person gave me permission to use their information?

Consent is a defense the statute itself builds in — the offense requires use “without first obtaining that individual’s consent.” But consent disputes are rarely clean: authorization given during a relationship or a business arrangement, later denied or withdrawn, is the classic fact pattern in these prosecutions. What the consent covered, when it ended, and what can be proven about it are questions for a defense attorney, not assumptions to make on your own.

Is using someone’s credit card identity theft or theft?

Often both. Using a card number is “personal identification information” under § 817.568, and the same conduct can also be charged as theft or fraud under other statutes. Prosecutors have charging discretion, and the choice matters — § 817.568 carries mandatory minimums at the higher tiers that ordinary theft does not.

What is aggravated identity theft?

A federal charge, not a Florida one. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1028A, using a real person’s means of identification during certain federal felonies — wire fraud, bank fraud, benefits fraud, and others — carries a mandatory 2-year sentence that must run consecutively to the sentence for the underlying crime, with no probation available for it.

Do identity theft cases go to state or federal court?

Either, and sometimes the same conduct could go to both. Single-victim, local cases are typically state prosecutions under § 817.568. Multi-victim schemes, tax-refund and government-benefits fraud, and anything investigated by federal agencies tend to be charged federally, where § 1028A’s consecutive two years comes into play. The systems differ on bail, sentencing, and procedure — we compare them here.

Can an identity theft charge be sealed or expunged?

It depends on how the case ends and on the person’s history. A dismissed charge may be eligible for expungement, and some outcomes short of an adjudication of guilt can leave sealing available — but eligibility rules are technical and offense-specific. We explain Florida’s framework in If Charges Are Dismissed, Do You Have a Criminal Record?