FALSE PERSONATION
The crime of falsely assuming the identity of
another to gain a benefit or avoid an expense.
The crime of falsely assuming the identity of
another person in order to gain a benefit or
cause harm to the other person can be referred
to as false personation or false IMPERSONATION.
False personation laws have been enacted at
both the state and federal levels to protect the
dignity, reputation, and economic well-being of
the individual being impersonated. Further,
these statutes deter criminals by discouraging
the impersonator’s pursuit of benefits.
A false impersonator need not alter her or his
voice, wear a disguise, or otherwise change her or
his characteristics or appearance in order to be
found guilty. False personation simply involves
passing oneself off as another person. For exam-
ple, an individual who misrepresents herself to
be someone else in order to wrongfully cash that
person’s paycheck commits false personation.
The person impersonated must be real, not
fictitious. If a police officer pulls a driver over
for speeding, and the driver pretends to be his
brother, the driver is guilty of false personation.
His brother is an actual person, and the crime of
false personation is designed to take advantage
of his brother’s reputation and driving record. If
the driver pretends to be Dick Tracy, a fictitious
person, he is not guilty of false personation.
Harming Dick Tracy’s fictitious reputation and
driving record is not an intended function of the
crime. However, in this situation, the driver may
be guilty of a different crime such as FRAUD or
giving false information to a police officer.
The benefit or harm sought by imperson-
ators may take many forms. Some are obvious,
some are not. In the example of the driver who
was pulled over for speeding and impersonated
his brother, an obvious benefit is to avoid paying
a speeding ticket. A less obvious benefit is to
keep this offense off the driver’s record. Even less
obvious, the driver may have set up the whole
situation in order to tarnish his brother’s driving
record or reputation.
False personation statutes may prohibit false
personation of another generally, or they may
specify a particular group, office, or profession.
There are federal statutes that specifically pro-
hibit the false personation of a U.S. citizen; an
officer or employee of the United States in pur-
suit of money or other valuables; an officer or
employee of the United States attempting to
arrest or search a person or building; a creditor
of the United States; a foreign diplomat or offi-
cial; a 4-H Club member or agent; or a member
or agent of the Red Cross. Many states have
statutes prohibiting the impersonation of police
