Senator Grisanti and Assemblymember Gabryszak working together to help protect victims against fraudulent financial practices

Assemblymember Dennis Gabryszak (D-Cheektowaga) announced the Assembly passed a bill he authored that would amend the Criminal Procedure Law to assist a victim of false financial practice, helping them remedy the fraudulent financial claim that the victim is indebted or obligated to a defendant, or secured party, in a criminal action (A.3457)
“When someone makes a false financial claim against you, it can cause excessive and unfair damage to your credit rating,” Assemblymember Gabryszak said. “We cannot allow victims of fraudulent financial statements to go unprotected with nowhere to turn. By providing victims with stronger options to help reverse or disprove wrongful claims, we can help stop any unwarranted harm to the victim’s credit.”
Currently, when a victim has a false financing statement filed against them, they can file a correction statement with the New York State secretary of state. This bill would go a step further and assist those victims in proving that a financing statement was false with a certification filed with the secretary of state. That certification would be filed with the court where the fraudulent conviction was entered, along with the specific filing information related to the victim’s false financing statement, strengthening the chances of overturning a false claim in court, Gabryszak added.
Senator Mark Grisanti (R-Buffalo) is the prime sponsor of the Senate companion bill to A-3457.
“As a lawmaker and attorney, I know firsthand that filing of false financial statements can have severe consequences,” Senator Grisanti said. “This is a bipartisan effort and I’m proud to sponsor legislation that is aimed at protecting victims from the effects of false claims. Such legislation is long overdue.”