DATE: September 26, 2017
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Lisa A. Smittcamp, District Attorney-Public Administrator
SUBJECT: Adopt Resolution Accepting Monetary Donation to the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office to fund the Identification Theft Prosecution Unit
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Adopt Resolution accepting and expressing gratitude for the donation of $300,000 from Table Mountain Rancheria for the Fresno County District Attorney’s Identification (ID) Theft Prosecution Unit for FY 2017-18.
REPORT
Since 2010 the District Attorney’s ID Theft Prosecution Unit has received generous donations from the Table Mountain Rancheria. With your Board’s acceptance of the $300,000 donation, Table Mountain Rancheria will have donated $6,000,000 in support of the District Attorney’s ID Theft Unit.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Should your Board not approve the recommended action, the continuation of the District Attorney’s ID Theft Prosecution Unit at the current level may not be possible.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost (NCC) or ongoing costs associated with the recommended action. Table Mountain Rancheria provided a $300,000 donation on August 7, 2017, and it was deposited into the ID Theft Special Revenue Fund 0060, Subclass 17208, and will be used to offset costs associated with the District Attorney’s ID Theft Unit for FY 2017-18 once accepted by your Board. Appropriations of $1,200,542 and estimated revenues in the amount of $1,200,542 for the ID Theft program are included in the District Attorney-Grants Org 2862 Adopted Budget for FY 2017-18. It is anticipated Table Mountain Rancheria will make additional donations throughout the year.
DISCUSSION:
Identity theft is taking someone else’s personal information and using it for an unlawful purpose (California Penal Code Section 530.5). It is a serious crime with serious consequences.
According to the Department of Justice, identification (ID) theft is the future of crime. There were 12.7 million U.S. adult victims in 2014, or nearly one victim every 2.5 seconds. That figure represents 4% of U.S. adults, including 1.5 million Californians. The total cost of identity theft to victims and business in 2014 was $16 million, down from $18 million in 2013. The decrease continues to be the result of a greater share of fraud involving existing credit/debit card accounts, which is less costly than other forms of identity theft. Identity thieves do many things in a victim’s name, from using a credit card account to opening new accounts, filing false tax returns, taking out loans, getting medical services, or even committing a crime and as a result creating a criminal record.
The Fresno County District Attorney-Public Administrator’s Office (DA-PA) has a specialized unit dedicated to prosecuting identity theft in our community. Since the unit’s inception in 2007 (with State Indian Gaming funds, which were discontinued in 2010 for this program), the DA-PA has accepted 2,504 felony cases. The ID Theft Unit works closely with other law enforcement agencies and performs community outreach on the dangers and prevention of ID Theft.
The generous donation from Table Mountain Rancheria and its Tribal Membership of $300,000 allows the DA-PA ID Theft Unit to continue to combat this growing threat of identity theft, and allows this critical program to continue to be staffed with three Deputy District Attorneys, two Senior DA Investigators, one Investigative Technician and one Legal Assistant positions for FY 2017-18.
The recommended action is required to satisfy the reporting requirements under Chapter 762.12 of the CAO Management Directives for donations greater than $500.00 in value.
If the donation for this program is discontinued, the associated positions will be deleted.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Resolution
CAO ANALYST:
Jeannie Z. Figueroa