Impersonation and Identity Fraud (including digital forgery)
RI Identity Fraud Law
Financial · Artificial intelligence · Biometric · Other
Rhode Island's criminal identity fraud statute. It covers producing or trafficking false IDs, using another person's means of identification (including biometric data) or financial information to defraud, and impersonating a person or entity with intent to defraud. A 2026 amendment added 'digital forgery': creating or distributing AI-generated or other forged likenesses or voice recordings of real people to facilitate fraud.
- Where
- Rhode Island
- Citation
- R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 11-49.1-1 to 11-49.1-5
- Status
- In force
- Last amended
- 2026-06-23
- Enforced by
- Prosecutors
- People can sue
- No
- Penalties
- Felony: first conviction up to 3 years and/or up to ,000; second 3-5 years and up to ,000; third or later 5-10 years and at least ,000 (§ 11-49.1-4).
- Applies to
- Any person who misuses identification documents, means of identification or financial information of another, impersonates a person or entity to defraud, or (since 2026) engages in digital forgery
- Excludes constitutionally protected activity, law enforcement, providers or developers of the underlying technology, and otherwise protected activity
Practices it requires
- Do not knowingly impersonate an entity or person, living or dead, with intent to defraud or injure.R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-49.1-3(a)(7) · From 2026-06-23
- Do not knowingly transfer or use another person's means of identification (including SSN, biometric data, electronic identifiers) or financial information without lawful authority with intent to defraud.R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 11-49.1-2, 11-49.1-3(a)(9)
- Do not knowingly engage in digital forgery: generating, creating or distributing a non-consensual forged digital likeness or voice recording of an identifiable person as genuine to facilitate fraud.R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 11-49.1-2, 11-49.1-3(a)(8) · From 2026-06-23
Sources
- Official text
- R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 11-49.1 index (Rhode Island General Assembly)
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-49.1-4, Penalties
- P.L. 2026, ch. 412 (2026-H 8060 Sub A), identity fraud and digital forgery, enacted 06/23/2026
Checked against these sources on 2026-09-25 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.
Unverified: Amended definitions and offense elements are taken from the 2026 public law text; the online code may not yet reflect them. §§ 11-49.1-1 and 11-49.1-5 were not read. | Effective date of the 2026 amendment assumes 'upon passage' equals the 06/23/2026 enactment date; companion ch. 413 (S 3338) not fetched.
Research reference, not legal advice.