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Am. Sub. S. B. No. 223 As Enrolled
(129th General Assembly)
(Amended Substitute Senate Bill Number 223)
AN ACT
To amend sections 2913.05 and 4719.17 and to enact
section 109.88 of the Revised Code to allow the
Attorney General to investigate the offenses of
unauthorized use of property and
telecommunications fraud and to modify the
penalties for telecommunications fraud.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio:
SECTION 1. That sections 2913.05 and 4719.17 be amended and
section 109.88 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 109.88. (A) If the attorney general has reasonable
cause to believe that a person or enterprise has engaged in, is
engaging in, or is preparing to engage in a violation of any
provision of section 2913.04 or 2913.05 of the Revised Code, the
attorney general may investigate the alleged violation.
(B) For purposes of an investigation under division (A) of
this section, the attorney general may issue subpoenas and
subpoenas duces tecum. The attorney general may compel the
attendance of witnesses and the production of records and papers
of all kinds and descriptions that are relevant to the
investigation, including, but not limited to, any books, accounts,
documents, and memoranda pertaining to the subject of the
investigation. Upon the failure of any person to comply with any
subpoena or subpoena duces tecum issued by the attorney general
under this section, the attorney general may apply to the court of
common pleas in Franklin county or in any county in which an
element of the crime occurred for a contempt order as in the case
of disobedience of the requirements of a subpoena issued from the
court of common pleas or a refusal to testify on a subpoena. A
subpoena or subpoena duces tecum issued by the attorney general
under this section to a provider of electronic communication
services or remote computing services shall be subject to the
limitations set forth in the "Electronic Communications Privacy
Act of 1986," 18 U.S.C. 2703.
(C) Any information gathered by the attorney general during
the course of the investigation that is in the possession of the
attorney general, a prosecuting attorney, a law enforcement
agency, or a special prosecutor is a confidential law enforcement
investigatory record for purposes of section 149.43 of the Revised
Code. No provision contained in this section affects or limits any
right of discovery granted to any person under the Revised Code,
the Rules of Criminal Procedure, or the Rules of Juvenile
Procedure.
Sec. 2913.05. (A) No person, having devised a scheme to
defraud, shall knowingly disseminate, transmit, or cause to be
disseminated or transmitted by means of a wire, radio, satellite,
telecommunication, telecommunications device, or
telecommunications service any writing, data, sign, signal,
picture, sound, or image with purpose to execute or otherwise
further the scheme to defraud.
(B) If an offender commits a violation of division (A) of
this section and the violation occurs as part of a course of
conduct involving other violations of division (A) of this section
or violations of, attempts to violate, conspiracies to violate, or
complicity in violations of section 2913.02, 2913.04, 2913.11,
2913.21, 2913.31, 2913.42, 2913.43, or 2921.13 of the Revised
Code, the court, in determining the degree of the offense pursuant
to division (C) of this section, may aggregate the value of the
benefit obtained by the offender or of the detriment to the victim
of the fraud in the violations involved in that course of conduct.
The course of conduct may involve one victim or more than one
victim.
(C) Whoever violates this section is guilty of
telecommunications fraud. Except as otherwise provided in this
division, telecommunications fraud is a felony of the fifth
degree. If the value of the benefit obtained by the offender or of
the detriment to the victim of the fraud is five
one thousand
dollars or more but less than one hundred seven thousand five
hundred dollars, telecommunications fraud is a felony of the
fourth degree. If the value of the benefit obtained by the
offender or of the detriment to the victim of the fraud is
one
hundred seven thousand five hundred dollars or more but less than
one hundred fifty thousand dollars, telecommunications fraud is a
felony of the third degree. If the value of the benefit obtained
by the offender or of the detriment to the victims of the fraud is
one hundred fifty thousand dollars or more but less than one
million dollars, telecommunications fraud is a felony of the
second degree. If the value of the benefit obtained by the
offender or of the detriment to the victims of the fraud is one
million dollars or more, telecommunications fraud is a felony of
the first degree.
Sec. 4719.17. There is hereby created in the state treasury
the telemarketing fraud enforcement fund. The treasurer of state
shall deposit into the fund registration fees paid pursuant to
divisions (A) and (D) of section 4719.02 of the Revised Code. The
consumer protection section of the office of the attorney general
shall use the moneys in the fund for the administration and
enforcement of the program of registration established in sections
4719.01 to 4719.18 of the Revised Code and also to pay for any
expenses reasonably related to the administration of Chapter 4719.
of the Revised Code, the investigation or prosecution of any
crimes investigated by the consumer protection section, or for
educational activities that advance the purposes of sections
4719.01 to 4719.18 Chapter 4719. of the Revised Code as set forth
in section 4719.18 of the Revised Code.
SECTION 2. That existing sections 2913.05 and 4719.17 of the
Revised Code are hereby repealed.
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