In 2004, when identity theft emerged as a significant threat to individuals and institutions alike, Congress enacted 18 U.S.C. §1028A, entitled “Aggravated Identity Theft,” to impose stricter penalties on offenders. The statute imposes a non-discretionary two-year prison sentence for offenders who, “during and in relation to any [predicate offense], knowingly transfer, possess, or use, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person.”

Predicate offenses encompass a wide range of crimes, including healthcare fraud and wire fraud, and the two-year mandatory minimum must run consecutively to the sentences imposed for the predicate and other offenses charged.