NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8051
SPONSOR: Stern TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to increasing penalties for
the crimes of theft and fraud when directed against an elderly person
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To increase the penalties for theft and fraud when directed against an
elderly person, as defined as anyone sixty years or older. This would
create a new Class B felony for theft against an elderly person and
fraud against an elderly person.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: states the legislative intent.
Section 2: adds a new section 165.80 to the penal law.
Section 3: adds a new section 190.91 to the penal law.
Section 4: sets the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Acts of theft and fraud directed, against seniors have steadily
increased in recent years. According to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint
Center, in 2023, elder fraud complaints increased by 14%. In addition,
according to NASDAQ's 2024 Financial Crimes Report, one in ten elderly
Americans are victims of theft or fraud each year and fraud against
seniors totals $77.7 billion annually.
To address this ongoing issue, this bill seeks to strengthen New York
State law to provide a more meaningful deterrent for those offenders who
prey upon our vulnerable seniors through the creation of two new
sections in the penal law: "theft against an elderly person" and "fraud
against an elderly person," which would both be classified as Class B
felonies.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8051
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
April 22, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. STERN -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to increasing penalties for
the crimes of theft and fraud when directed against an elderly person
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative intent. This Legislature finds that theft and
2 fraud against seniors have increased steadily since 2020. According to
3 the FBI Internet Complaint Center's statistics, in 2023 elder fraud
4 complaints increased 14%. The Legislature holds that crimes targeted
5 against the elderly take a wide variety of forms, from check fraud to
6 identity theft or through scams where individuals pose as tech support
7 or even as family members. This Legislature further finds that according
8 to NASDAQ's 2024 Financial Crimes Report, one in ten elderly Americans
9 are victims of theft or fraud each year, in total, $77.7 billion in
10 fraud globally has been linked to elderly victims.
11 Therefore, this Legislature finds that to combat the increasing occur-
12 rence of these crimes, and to treat them with the severity that they
13 deserve, theft and fraud directed towards an elderly victim should
14 hereby be classified as a separate crime that is classified as Class B
15 felony.
16 § 2. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 165.80 to read
17 as follows:
18 § 165.80 Theft against an elderly person.
19 1. A person is guilty of theft against an elderly person when such
20 person commits an offense defined in this title when the victim is an
21 elderly person.
22 2. For the purposes of this section, "elderly person" means a person
23 who is sixty years of age or older.
24 Theft against an elderly person is a class B felony.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11628-01-5
A. 8051 2
1 § 3. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 190.91 to read
2 as follows:
3 § 190.91 Fraud against an elderly person.
4 1. A person is guilty of fraud against an elderly person when such
5 person commits an offense defined in this title when the victim is an
6 elderly person.
7 2. For the purposes of this section, "elderly person" means a person
8 who is sixty years of age or older.
9 Fraud against an elderly person is a class B felony.
10 § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
11 have become a law.
