STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          4505
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                     March 13, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sens. PARKER, PERSAUD, SEPULVEDA, STAVISKY -- read twice
          and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee
          on Codes
        AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing  the  offense
          of false pretense
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
     2  the "e-impersonation prevention act".
     3    §  2.  The penal law is amended by adding a new section 190.22 to read
     4  as follows:
     5  § 190.22 False pretense.
     6    1. A person is guilty of false pretense, when he or she knowingly  and
     7  without  consent  impersonates  another person through or on an internet
     8  website or by other electronic means for the purposes of harming, intim-
     9  idating, threatening or defrauding such other person.
    10    2. For the purposes of this section:
    11    (a) An impersonation is credible if another  person  would  reasonably
    12  believe  or  did  reasonably  believe  that  the defendant was or is the
    13  person who was impersonated.
    14    (b) "Electronic means"  shall  include  the  accessing  of  an  e-mail
    15  account,  or  an  account  or  profile  on  a social networking internet
    16  website in another person's name.
    17    False pretense is a class D felony.
    18    § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
    19  ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03988-01-9