Bill 277.

Summary.

The bill aims to amend Articles 220 and 221 of the Criminal Code, concerning offenses against property in the form of fraud. Article 1 defines that purpose. The following provisions propose new wording for the prohibited conduct, the circumstances that increase the penalty, and the cases subject to a different prison sentence.

Article 2 proposes to amend Article 220 of the Criminal Code. Under the proposed wording, a person commits the offense by obtaining an unlawful benefit for themselves or a third party through deception, to another person's detriment. It establishes a prison sentence of 4 to 6 years for that conduct. The wording covers benefits obtained by the person who engages in the deception and benefits obtained for a third party, in each case to another person's detriment.

The same proposed Article 220 provides for the penalty to be increased by up to one third when the fraud is committed by abusing personal or professional relationships. It also provides for that increase when the conduct is carried out through a cyber or computer-based medium. These circumstances are included in the article that defines fraud and its prison sentence of 4 to 6 years.

Article 3 proposes to amend Article 221 of the Criminal Code. For the conduct covered by Article 220, it establishes a prison sentence of 7 to 12 years when the financial loss exceeds 50,000 balboas (B/.50,000.00). The same sentence applies if attorneys-in-fact, managers, or administrators commit the conduct in the exercise of their duties. The article links this case to the duties those persons perform when committing the conduct.

The proposed wording of Article 221 also establishes a prison sentence of 7 to 12 years if the fraud is committed to the detriment of the Public Administration or a charitable institution. It also includes cases in which another person's identity is assumed or used to obtain a benefit. The article thus brings together cases involving the amount of the financial loss, the duties of the person committing the conduct, the entity harmed, and the use of another person's identity.

Article 4 reiterates that the bill amends Articles 220 and 221 of the Criminal Code. Article 5 provides that the proposed law takes effect on the day after its promulgation. In light of its content, the bill relates to the Public Administration and the charitable institutions mentioned in the text, and may be of interest to people who perform representative, managerial, or administrative duties, people affected by deception or the use of their identity, and people who use cyber or computer-based media.