STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1957 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 14, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing the offense of false pretense The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "e-impersonation prevention act". 3 § 2. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 190.22 to read 4 as follows: 5 § 190.22 False pretense. 6 1. A person is guilty of false pretense, when such person knowingly 7 and without consent impersonates another person through or on an inter- 8 net website or by other electronic means for the purposes of harming, 9 intimidating, threatening or defrauding such other person. 10 2. For the purposes of this section: 11 (a) An impersonation is credible if another person would reasonably 12 believe or did reasonably believe that the defendant was or is the 13 person who was impersonated. 14 (b) "Electronic means" shall include the accessing of an e-mail 15 account, or an account or profile on a social networking internet 16 website in another person's name. 17 False pretense is a class D felony. 18 § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed- 19 ing the date on which it shall have become a law. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD05243-01-5