Fake Facebook Page Lands Woman in Court for Identity Theft

Posted 11/03/2011 at 8:40am | by Paul Lilly

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Word to the wise, don't set up a phoney baloney Facebook profile to impersonate your ex-boyfriend/girlfriend as a way to exact revenge. Dana Thornton, an angry woman scorned by her former boyfriend, is learning this lesson the hard way now that a judge has ruled her case can be prosecuted for identity theft. Wouldn't it have been easier to just key his car? At least then she'd just have pay for repairs. But if convicted on the single count of fourth-degree identity theft for which she's been indicted, Thornton could face a maximum of 18 months in prison, according to the Associated Press.

Thornton is accused of creating a fake Facebook page using photos and personally identifiable information about her ex-boyfriend, and then hopping on the account and posting message that would indicate he's using drugs, has herpes, and things of that nature.

Richard Roberts, the attorney representing Thornton, wanted the case dismissed because the law doesn't spell out any kind of electronic communications. State Superior Court Judge David Ironson denied his request.

"The fact that the means of committing the crime are not set forth in the statute doesn't lead to the conclusion that the defendant didn't commit the crime," he said.