Secretary of State Griswold Priority Legislation to Combat Business Identity Theft Passes out of the Legislature with Bipartisan Support

Denver, April 25, 2022 - Today, Secretary of State Jena Griswold applauded the passage of SB22-034, a bipartisan bill to combat business identity theft. The bill is one of Secretary Griswold’s legislative priorities and is sponsored by Senator Chris Kolker, Senator Kevin Priola, Representative Shannon Bird, and Representative Shane Sandridge.

“As Secretary of State, I will always work to ensure Colorado remains a great place to own and operate a business. This legislation cuts red tape and provides protections for hard-working Colorado business owners from the increasing threat of business identity theft,” said Secretary of State Jena Griswold.  “I thank Senators Kolker and Priola, as well as Representatives Bird and Sandridge for their leadership on this bill.”

The “Combating Business Identity Theft” bill permits the Secretary of State’s Office and Attorney General’s Office to establish an interagency process to field complaints of fraudulent documents filed with the Department of State, investigate them, and remedy fraudulent filings before additional harm is done.  

Under the “Combating Business Identity Theft” bill, when the Secretary of State’s office receives a complaint of suspected fraudulent filings, that complaint will be referred to the Attorney General’s Office for investigation. If the subsequent investigation determines the business filing to be fraudulent, the Secretary of State’s Office will then redact victim’s information from the fraudulent record and flag the fraudulent record as suspected fraudulent activity. This legislation will also establish a working group with business community members and law enforcement to look into additional measures to address fraudulent business filings.

Business identity theft occurs when criminals manipulate official business filings or utilize the information of legitimate Colorado businesses and residents to secure loans, credit, and public dollars for a fraudulent business. Prior to this law, addressing business identify theft was a costly process often requiring litigation. The damage can be devastating to the victim and their business, resulting in damage to their credit history or denial of credit leading to operational problems.

Currently the Colorado Secretary of State, the Colorado Attorney General, and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation ID Theft Unit do provide a Business Identity Theft Resource Guide with the information necessary to avoid and reduce the threat of business identity theft while also assisting businesses that have already fallen victim to these crimes.  

A full summary and text of the “Combating Business Identity Theft” bill can be found HERE.