The state’s top law-enforcement officer will soon have more authority to battle Internet-related
crimes — acts that cost Ohioans a reported $10.6 million last year.
Starting Thursday, Ohio’s new cyberfraud law will give the Ohio attorney general’s office the
same criminal-subpoena power local prosecutors have in suspected cases of identity theft, website
scams and other online fraud.
“Criminally prosecuting these people is important because for many of them a civil penalty or
fine is just the cost of doing business,” said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine
. Criminal prosecutions for online scams will have a “deterrent effect,” he said.
Currently, state authorities can subpoena information only to build civil cases. They can seek
fines and restitution but no criminal punishment, such as prison time.
The new cyberfraud law will give the attorney general the authority to subpoena the phone
records, Internet protocol (IP) addresses and payment information in suspected cyberfraud cases and
prepare them for criminal prosecution by a county or special prosecutor.
“We will be able to run these cases down, get the information and determine whether or not there
is a criminal violation, then turn it over to the prosecutor,” DeWine said. “It is going to
increase the number of criminal cases that we can assist local prosecutors in prosecuting.”
Ohio had a total of 12,661 complaints last year related to crimes committed using the Internet,
ranking the state fifth among all states, according to the Internet Crime Complaint Center’s 2011
Internet Crime Report. Victims in Ohio reported total losses of $10.6 million, ranking the state
ninth in the nation.
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