NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A397
SPONSOR: Vanel TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to enhanced penalties for
larceny and criminal possession of stolen property against elderly
persons
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Provides for enhanced penalties for larceny and criminal possession of
stolen property against elderly persons.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
155.55(1): States that a person who commits a larceny offense, other
than an offense in 155.42 and 155.43, and such person knows that the
victim was 60+ or was previously convicted for a larceny offense involv-
ing a person 60+, then all misdemeanors will become class E felonies,
and all felonies shall be one category higher.
165.67: 155.55(1): States that a person who commits a criminal
possession of stolen property offense in 165.40, 165.45, 165.60, and 1
65.52, and such person knows that the victim was 60+ or was previously
convicted for a one of those offenses involving a person 60+, then all
misdemeanors will become class E felonies, and all felonies shall be one
category higher.
JUSTIFICATION:
Criminals will typically prey upon the elderly in the commission of
their frauds and scams. According to the NYS Department of Financial
Services, the cost of elder financial exploitation is estimated to be as
much as $1.5 billion per year.
The elderly are normally targeted because of certain factors that are
unique to a large number of elderly persons, like cognitive and physical
decline, isolation, larger monetary savings and a lesser understanding
of new technology.
With AI, for example, these scams have gotten even more unpredictable
and convincing. Over the past year, voice cloning technology ha s
reached the point where people can call a person and, in real time,
speak to them with a cloned voice that sounds just like their loved one
and claim whatever they like. There are a number of other scams that
have targeted the elderly for decades since technology became more wide-
spread, particularly in relation to computers, phones, online sales. and
social media.
It's not just these widely known scams, but the elderly also face unique
problems in relation to the distribution and investment of their assets,
and people can take advantage of them in these areas. Worse, many of
these scams are perpetrated by overseas actors who hire people (known as
"mules") in New York to pick up money and goods. For example, a person
overseas may call up an elderly person and state that their loved one is
being held captive, and that they must pay a sum of money to secure
their safety. In such a case, the money might be sent through a money
transfer service to a U.S. address to avoid raising red flags, or they
might have a person pick up the money at a location. There are also
cases where someone locally knowingly tricks an elderly person into
bringing money or goods somewhere which are then picked by another
person.
In both cases, if the fraudster cannot be caught, it will be extremely
helpful for prosecutors to be able to use an enhanced penalty against
the person who possesses stolen goods from a person they know to be over
60. This can potentially be used as a tool to unravel criminal enter-
prises.
The fact is, criminals should not get a free pass to pick and choose the
victims that they think will have a higher likelihood of falling for
their scams. If they have the option to choose their victims based on
age, then the state should have the option to prosecute them based on
the victim's age too.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
08/28/2024 referred to codes
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
N/A
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
397
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. VANEL -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to enhanced penalties for
larceny and criminal possession of stolen property against elderly
persons
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 155.44 to
2 read as follows:
3 § 155.44 Enhanced penalties for larceny against elderly persons.
4 1. For any offense committed in violation of this article against a
5 person sixty years of age or older, where such person is an intended
6 victim of the offense, other than section 155.42 or 155.43 of this arti-
7 cle, and:
8 (a) where such offense is a misdemeanor, the offense shall be deemed a
9 class E felony; or
10 (b) where such offense is a felony, the offense shall be deemed to be
11 one category higher than the specified offense the defendant committed.
12 2. The enhanced penalty provided for by subdivision one of this
13 section shall only apply where:
14 (a) the offender knew the age of the victim prior to or learned the
15 age of the victim during the commission of the act; and
16 (b) the offender has previously been convicted of a larceny offense
17 other than section 155.42 or 155.43 of this article involving a person
18 sixty years of age or older.
19 § 2. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 165.67 to read
20 as follows:
21 § 165.67 Enhanced penalties for criminal possession of stolen property
22 against elderly persons.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01932-01-5
A. 397 2
1 1. For any offense committed in violation of sections 165.40, 165.45,
2 165.50 and 165.52 of this article against a person sixty years of age or
3 older, where such person is an intended victim of the offense, and:
4 (a) where such offense is a misdemeanor, the offense shall be deemed a
5 class E felony; or
6 (b) where such offense is a felony, the offense shall be deemed to be
7 one category higher than the specified offense the defendant committed.
8 2. The enhanced penalty provided for by subdivision one of this
9 section shall only apply where:
10 (a) the offender knew the age of the victim prior to or learned the
11 age of the victim during the commission of the act; and
12 (b) the offender has previously been convicted of a criminal
13 possession of stolen property offense involving a person sixty years of
14 age or older.
15 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
16 have become a law.
