Frouhar Law defends clients charged with identity theft and identity fraud in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario. These charges, among the most commonly prosecuted white collar crime defence matters in Ottawa, are built almost entirely on digital evidence and carry consequences that extend well beyond a fine.
An identity theft or identity fraud conviction results in a permanent criminal record, potential imprisonment, and consequences for employment, travel, and immigration status. Call us for a free consultation.
Tel: 613.238.2000
Identity theft and identity fraud charges are prosecuted seriously in Ontario because they involve allegations of using, possessing, transferring, or misusing another person's identifying information. These cases may involve financial records, online accounts, forged documents, banking activity, credit applications, digital evidence, or allegations connected to broader fraud investigations.
An identity theft or identity fraud charge is not just a paperwork issue. It can affect your freedom, employment, professional licensing, immigration status, travel, and reputation. The right defence counsel addresses both the legal allegation and the long-term consequences that can follow.
Frouhar Law defends clients facing identity theft and identity fraud charges in Ottawa and across Eastern Ontario. These cases often turn on intent, knowledge, possession of identifying information, digital evidence, financial transactions, document trails, and whether the Crown can prove the accused knowingly used or intended to use another person's identity unlawfully.
If you have been arrested, charged, or contacted by police, early legal advice from an identity theft lawyer can help protect your rights and guide your next steps.
Founding partner Mash Frouhar is a former Crown Attorney who understands how prosecutors approach identity theft and identity fraud cases, including bank records, IP logs, device searches, witness statements, police notes, forged document allegations, complainant evidence, and the Crown's theory of knowledge or intent.
Frouhar Law provides identity theft and identity fraud defence in both English and French. From the first consultation to disclosure review, bail hearings, Crown negotiations, and trial preparation, clients receive clear explanations in the language they are most comfortable using.
Identity theft and identity fraud arrests can happen suddenly, often after a financial investigation, search warrant, banking complaint, online activity review, or allegation involving documents or personal information found in your possession. Frouhar Law's 24-hour availability means you can contact a defence lawyer before answering police questions or making a statement. Your right to counsel is protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Call before you speak.
The first steps after an identity theft or identity fraud arrest can affect your bail conditions, police statement, disclosure review, digital evidence, and the direction of your entire defence.
Book a ConsultationLearn All About Our Team
Mash Frouhar
Barrister & Solicitor, former Crown Attorney, bilingual (EN/FR/Farsi)
Connie D'Angelo
Barrister & Solicitor, sexual offence proceedings
Identity theft and identity fraud are distinct offences under the Criminal Code of Canada, governed by separate provisions with different maximum penalties. Understanding which charge you are facing (and what the Crown must prove for each) is the foundation of every defence.
Section 402.1 of the Criminal Code defines "identity information": the category of data that underlies both offences. Identity information includes any information of a type commonly used alone or in combination with other information to identify an individual.
The statutory definition is intentionally broad:
The actual identity theft offence is found at section 402.2, while the identity fraud offence is found at section 403.
Section 402.2 of the Criminal Code creates two identity theft offences.
Section 402.2 is a hybrid offence: by indictment, the maximum sentence is 5 years imprisonment; by summary conviction, the maximum is 2 years less a day. There are no mandatory minimum sentences. A conviction results in a permanent criminal record.
A charge under falsification of documents is frequently laid alongside s.402.2 where the accused is alleged to have created or altered identity documents.
Section 403 of the Criminal Code governs identity fraud: the act of fraudulently personating another person, living or dead, with intent to gain advantage for oneself or another, to cause disadvantage to another, or to obstruct, deceive, or defeat the course of justice.
Identity fraud is the active use of another person's identity, as opposed to the mere possession of their information under s.402.2. Section 403 is also a hybrid offence, but with significantly higher maximum penalties: by indictment, the maximum sentence is 10 years imprisonment; by summary conviction, the maximum is 2 years less a day.
A single investigation frequently produces both a s.402.2 charge (for possessing the identity information) and a s.403 charge (for using it to personate the victim). Where the personation also involves financial loss to the victim, fraud charges in Ottawa under s.380 of the Criminal Code are often added as a third charge.
Frouhar Law defends identity theft and identity fraud charges in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario. Call 613.238.2000 before speaking to police.
Book a Free ConsultationIdentity theft investigations in Ottawa rarely begin with an arrest. They begin with a complaint from a bank, a credit card company, a government agency, or a victim who has discovered their identity has been used fraudulently.
Connie D'Angelo, Frouhar Law's white collar crime specialist with focused expertise in defending complex fraud and financial crime cases, reviews every step of the investigation from initial complaint to charge.
Identity theft investigations in Ottawa arise from several common fact patterns:
In Ottawa, the government of Canada's presence means that SIN-based identity information and passport numbers are particularly common subjects of identity theft investigations. RCMP and OPP cybercrime units have Ottawa-based capacity specifically for these investigations.
Identity theft prosecutions are built on digital evidence. The Crown's case typically rests on financial records, electronic device contents, IP address logs, and production orders compelling banks and telecommunications providers to disclose account and transaction data.
Police rarely make an arrest before completing a thorough documentary investigation. A production order (a judicial authorization compelling a bank, internet service provider, or phone company to disclose records) typically precedes any search warrant or arrest.
The search and seizure of electronic devices at the time of arrest produces the second category of evidence:
Understanding exactly what evidence police gathered, when they gathered it, and under what legal authority is the first task in any identity theft defence.
Both s.402.2 and s.403 require the Crown to prove intent: either the intent to use identity information to commit a fraud-related offence, or the intent to fraudulently personate another person. Intent is always proven circumstantially, and the Crown must establish it beyond a reasonable doubt.
Mash Frouhar, a former Crown Attorney, understands how Crown prosecutors build the intent case in identity theft files: what digital evidence they prioritize, how they interpret possession of large volumes of identity information, and when charges are appropriate for diversion or withdrawal. Challenging the intent inference at the disclosure stage is frequently the most productive avenue in an identity theft defence.
Where the accused possessed identity information for a legitimate purpose (received in a professional context, found accidentally, or held without any plan to use it for fraud), the intent element may not be made out. A genuine absence of fraudulent intent is a complete defence to a s.402.2(1) charge.
Identity theft cases are almost entirely built on digital evidence, and digital evidence is subject to significant Charter protections. Section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects everyone from unreasonable search and seizure.
In the digital context, this means:
Charter motions and applications challenging the admissibility of digital evidence are among the most effective defence tools in identity theft cases. Where the electronic evidence obtained from a phone or laptop is excluded, the Crown's case may not proceed.
Identity theft investigations frequently rely on digital identifiers (IP addresses, device IDs, and account logins) that can be linked to the wrong person. Where multiple people had access to the same device, the same network, or the same account, the Crown's identification evidence may be challenged.
The Crown must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused, not another person who shared the device, the network, or the account, obtained or possessed the identity information with the requisite intent.
Identity theft charges in Ottawa require immediate legal representation. Contact Frouhar Law at 613.238.2000.
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A single investigation typically produces both charges: theft for having the information, fraud for using it.
Yes. Section 402.2(1) of the Criminal Code makes it an offence to obtain or possess identity information with the requisite intent. There is no requirement that the information was ever used. The charge captures the possession stage, before any actual fraud, deceit, or falsehood is committed.
A lack of intent (a genuine absence of any plan to use the information fraudulently) is a complete defence to s.402.2(1), even where large volumes of identity information were found in the accused’s possession.
A conviction for identity fraud under section 403 of the Criminal Code results in a permanent criminal record. By indictment, the maximum sentence is 10 years imprisonment; by summary conviction, the maximum is 2 years less a day.
The actual sentence depends on:
Identity fraud convictions carry serious consequences for employment (particularly in finance, government, and regulated industries) as well as for travel, immigration status, and professional licences. These are serious white collar crime charges that warrant experienced criminal defence representation from the outset.
