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| To amend sections 2913.05 and 4719.17 and to enact | 1 |
| section 109.88 of the Revised Code to allow the | 2 |
| Attorney General to investigate the offenses of | 3 |
| unauthorized use of property and | 4 |
| telecommunications fraud and to modify the | 5 |
| penalties for telecommunications fraud. | 6 |
| Section 1. That sections 2913.05 and 4719.17 be amended and | 7 |
| section 109.88 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows: | 8 |
| Sec. 109.88. (A) If the attorney general has reasonable | 9 |
| cause to believe that a person or enterprise has engaged in, is | 10 |
| engaging in, or is preparing to engage in a violation of any | 11 |
| provision of section 2913.04 or 2913.05 of the Revised Code, the | 12 |
| attorney general may investigate the alleged violation. | 13 |
| (B) For purposes of an investigation under division (A) of | 14 |
| this section, the attorney general may issue subpoenas and | 15 |
| subpoenas duces tecum. The attorney general may compel the | 16 |
| attendance of witnesses and the production of records and papers | 17 |
| of all kinds and descriptions that are relevant to the | 18 |
| investigation, including, but not limited to, any books, accounts, | 19 |
| documents, and memoranda pertaining to the subject of the | 20 |
| investigation. Upon the failure of any person to comply with any | 21 |
| subpoena or subpoena duces tecum issued by the attorney general | 22 |
| under this section, the attorney general may apply to the court of | 23 |
| common pleas in Franklin county or in any county in which an | 24 |
| element of the crime occurred for a contempt order as in the case | 25 |
| of disobedience of the requirements of a subpoena issued from the | 26 |
| court of common pleas or a refusal to testify on a subpoena. A | 27 |
| subpoena or subpoena duces tecum issued by the attorney general | 28 |
| under this section to a provider of electronic communication | 29 |
| services or remote computing services shall be subject to the | 30 |
| limitations set forth in the "Electronic Communications Privacy | 31 |
| Act of 1986," 18 U.S.C. 2703. | 32 |
| (C) Any information gathered by the attorney general during | 33 |
| the course of the investigation that is in the possession of the | 34 |
| attorney general, a prosecuting attorney, a law enforcement | 35 |
| agency, or a special prosecutor is a confidential law enforcement | 36 |
| investigatory record for purposes of section 149.43 of the Revised | 37 |
| Code. No provision contained in this section affects or limits any | 38 |
| right of discovery granted to any person under the Revised Code, | 39 |
| the Rules of Criminal Procedure, or the Rules of Juvenile | 40 |
| Procedure. | 41 |
| Sec. 2913.05. (A) No person, having devised a scheme to | 42 |
| defraud, shall knowingly disseminate, transmit, or cause to be | 43 |
| disseminated or transmitted by means of a wire, radio, satellite, | 44 |
| telecommunication, telecommunications device, or | 45 |
| telecommunications service any writing, data, sign, signal, | 46 |
| picture, sound, or image with purpose to execute or otherwise | 47 |
| further the scheme to defraud. | 48 |
| (B) If an offender commits a violation of division (A) of | 49 |
| this section and the violation occurs as part of a course of | 50 |
| conduct involving other violations of division (A) of this section | 51 |
| or violations of, attempts to violate, conspiracies to violate, or | 52 |
| complicity in violations of section 2913.02, 2913.04, 2913.11, | 53 |
| 2913.21, 2913.31, 2913.42, 2913.43, or 2921.13 of the Revised | 54 |
| Code, the court, in determining the degree of the offense pursuant | 55 |
| to division (C) of this section, may aggregate the value of the | 56 |
| benefit obtained by the offender or of the detriment to the victim | 57 |
| of the fraud in the violations involved in that course of conduct. | 58 |
| The course of conduct may involve one victim or more than one | 59 |
| victim. | 60 |
| (C) Whoever violates this section is guilty of | 61 |
| telecommunications fraud. Except as otherwise provided in this | 62 |
| division, telecommunications fraud is a felony of the fifth | 63 |
| degree. If the value of the benefit obtained by the offender or of | 64 |
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the detriment to the victim of the fraud is | 65 |
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dollars or more but less than | 66 |
| hundred dollars, telecommunications fraud is a felony of the | 67 |
| fourth degree. If the value of the benefit obtained by the | 68 |
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offender or of the detriment to the victim of the fraud is
| 69 |
| 70 | |
| one hundred fifty thousand dollars, telecommunications fraud is a | 71 |
| felony of the third degree. If the value of the benefit obtained | 72 |
| by the offender or of the detriment to the victims of the fraud is | 73 |
| one hundred fifty thousand dollars or more but less than one | 74 |
| million dollars, telecommunications fraud is a felony of the | 75 |
| second degree. If the value of the benefit obtained by the | 76 |
| offender or of the detriment to the victims of the fraud is one | 77 |
| million dollars or more, telecommunications fraud is a felony of | 78 |
| the first degree. | 79 |
| Sec. 4719.17. There is hereby created in the state treasury | 80 |
| the telemarketing fraud enforcement fund. The treasurer of state | 81 |
| shall deposit into the fund registration fees paid pursuant to | 82 |
| divisions (A) and (D) of section 4719.02 of the Revised Code. The | 83 |
| consumer protection section of the office of the attorney general | 84 |
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shall use the moneys in the fund | 85 |
| 86 | |
| 87 | |
| expenses reasonably related to the administration of Chapter 4719. | 88 |
| of the Revised Code, the investigation or prosecution of any | 89 |
| crimes investigated by the consumer protection section, or for | 90 |
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educational activities that advance the purposes of | 91 |
| 92 | |
| in section 4719.18 of the Revised Code. | 93 |
| Section 2. That existing sections 2913.05 and 4719.17 of the | 94 |
| Revised Code are hereby repealed. | 95 |