[2301.HC] Legislator Committee vs. PodracingFan/Bowzin

High Court
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HIGH COURT OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
CASE SUBMISSION

Petition
The Legislator Committee asks the Court to find probable cause that PodracingFan committed Identity Fraud, and thereby indict them in accordance with Judicial Act 5.1.

Description
The Legislator Committee found substantial evidence that the Legislator known as @PodracingFan was an alternate account of the player known as Bowzin, an affiliation which was not disclosed on their Legislator application. The Legislator application form clearly asks for that information here:

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PodracingFan admitted to being an alternate account of Bowzin here. Given this confession, we believe this is sufficient evidence to indict Bowzin of the crime of identity fraud, but can produce additional evidence on request of the High Court as needed.

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HIGH COURT OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
[2301.HC] LEGISLATOR COMMITTEE VS. PODRACINGFAN/BOWZIN
SUBMISSION 18 APRIL 2023

Notice is given that this question has been received by the High Court and has been assigned all the necessary identifying information as follows:

DOCKET NUMBER
2301.HC

REFERENCE NAME
Legislator Committee vs. PodracingFan/Bowzin

CHARGE
Identity Fraud

The petitioner and other interested parties are invited to explain the existence or lack of probable cause for the charges no later than 28 April 2023 12:00 UTC, but the Court reserves the right to make a determination after the accused party has exercised their right to dispute the charge. Briefs Amicus Curiae on the preferred eventual outcome of this case are not required at this time.

2301.HC.NR | Issued 23 April 2023

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I have no intention of disputing these claims, and wish to plead guilty.

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Your honors,

PodracingFan has repeatedly confessed to being Bowzin (including the above post). I believe that itself is more than enough probable cause for an indictment.

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HIGH COURT OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
[2301.HC] LEGISLATOR COMMITTEE V. PODRACINGFAN

Determination
This case is found to have probable cause and therefore PodracingFan is indicted with the charge of committing identity fraud.

Considerations
The defendant and the general public may argue before the Court on all matters relevant to this case no later than 2023-04-27T14:00:00Z.

Submission: 18 April 2023 | Determination: 24 April 2023

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The Court would appreciate if the Legislator Committee, either through @HumanSanity or any one of its members, could provide further clarity on what "substantial evidence" indicated to them that PodracingFan was an alternate account for Bowzin.
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Your honors,

I apologize for the delay.

I’d like to request permission to submit the evidence to the Court via private message so as to avoid disclosing the exact counter-intelligence methods utilized.

Additionally, some information will be submitted via private message since it contains personally identifying information.

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The Court is amenable to receiving the requested information via private means.

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Thank you, your honor. Which Justices should receive this information?

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Justices Kringle and Belschaft are presiding over this case.

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If I am not too late, I’d like to request my personal information not be shared needlessly, especially considering I have pleaded guilty.

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The Court clarifies that it does not seek access to personally identifying information; it merely seeks to have a clearer understanding of the process and types of evidence that led the Legislator Committee to its stated conclusion. If there are privacy concerns at hand, personally identifying information can be redacted without prejudice to the Court’s request.

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Following review of the compiled document by the Legislator Committee, I have sent Justices Kringle and Belschaft the requested information, compliant with the request from the defendant that no personally identifying information was included.

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HIGH COURT OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
[2301.HC] Legislator Committee v. PodracingFan/Bowzin

Charge
Identity Fraud

Summary of the Ruling
It is the finding of the Court that it is more likely than not that PodracingFan/Bowzin did indeed attempt to deceive the South Pacific by obscuring their identity; therefore, on the charge of identity fraud the Court finds PodracingFan/Bowzin guilty.

Chief Justice Kringle delivered the ruling, signed also by Justice Belschaft.

The Court finds it more likely than not that PodracingFan is an alternate identity for Bowzin, one that was not properly disclosed at the time of their application as a legislator, and therefore PodracingFan/Bowzin has committed the crime of identity fraud. This is the result of a consideration of the facts as presented to, or otherwise ascertained by, the Court, as well as a subsequent admission of those same facts by PodracingFan/Bowzin.

PodracingFan applied for legislator status on 10 March 2023, listing that name as their sole identity with no other aliases or regional involvements1. This application was accepted, but over the course of the following weeks the Legislator Committee both received and obtained evidence that cast doubt into PodracingFan’s identity. This evidence includes cases of suspicious nation activity, relocations suggestive of a relationship with Bowzin, and reviews of IP addresses used. While this evidence will not be reproduced in this ruling, even in redacted form, out of deference for the confidentiality of the procedures performed by the Legislator Committee, the Court reviewed the same and finds that it reasonably supports the conclusion that PodracingFan would be an alternate and previously undisclosed identity of Bowzin.

PodracingFan also openly admitted that they are indeed an alternate identity of Bowzin, noting that they had “deceived the region [and] violated the law”2. This lends further credence to the conclusion that the Legislator Committee had already reached and confirms that their legislator application was untruthful insofar as it omitted past aliases and involvements.

This omission runs contrary to the requirements of Article 2, Section 3b of the Legislator Committee Act, which requires that legislator applications include “any colloquial aliases of the individual in use within the last year, or in prominent use longer than a year ago”3. Insofar as PodracingFan failed to disclose their prior identity as Bowzin, this constitutes a deception that circumvents the laws of the South Pacific, meeting the conditions set for the commission of identity fraud under the Criminal Code4.

In view of the evidence presented by the Committee and the admission delivered by PodracingFan, the Court has no option but to find it more likely than not that PodracingFan is an alternate identity of Bowzin, that this identity was undisclosed in their legislator application in contravention of regional law, and that this constitutes identity fraud under the laws of the South Pacific. In view of these facts, the Court hereby finds PodracingFan guilty of the crime of identity fraud.

It is so ordered.
Footnotes and References

  1. PodracingFan (2023). PodracingFan’s Legislator Application. Retrieved from PodracingFan (PodracingFan)

  2. PodracingFan (2023). [Admission of PodracingFan’s identity as Bowzin] Retrieved from Office of Assembly Affairs - #84 by PodracingFan

  3. Legislator Committee Act; Article 2, Section 3b (2023). THE MATT-DUCK Law Archive.

  4. Criminal Code; Article 1, Section 2 (2023). THE MATT-DUCK Law Archive.

Submission: 18 April 2023 | Determination: 24 April 2023 | Verdict: 05 June 2023

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HIGH COURT OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
[2301.HC] Legislator Committee v. PodracingFan/Bowzin

Whereas PodracingFan/Bowzin has been found guilty of the crime of identity fraud, this Court recommends that the sentence be as follows:

PodracingFan/Bowzin is barred from being granted legislator status for a period of three months, served from the date when their sentence is issued. This sentence encompasses all alternate identities that PodracingFan/Bowzin has used in the past, is using at present or may use in the future.

This sentence considers the precedent set by [2015.HC] Legislator Committee v. Schweizer Reich, in which the defendant was sentenced to a six months ban from obtaining legislator status for the crime of identity fraud, but accounts as a mitigating factor the fact that PodracingFan/Bowzin admitted to the offence and has shown no apparent ill intent towards the South Pacific.

Should PodracingFan/Bowzin, the Legislator Committee, or any other party know of any reason why this sentence should not be given as recommended, they are advised to present their reasons before the Court no later than 2023-06-18T19:00:00Z.

It is so ordered.

Submission: 18 April 2023 | Determination: 24 April 2023 | Verdict: 05 June 2023

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Thank you to the Court for its time and consideration in reaching this verdict. I have no further comments at this time.

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HIGH COURT OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
[2301.HC] Legislator Committee v. PodracingFan/Bowzin

Chief Justice Kringle delivered the ruling, signed also by Justice Belschaft.

Whereas PodracingFan/Bowzin has been found guilty of the crime of identity fraud, this Court sets the sentence as follows:

PodracingFan/Bowzin is barred from being granted legislator status for a period of three months, served from the date when this sentence is issued. This sentence encompasses all alternate identities that PodracingFan/Bowzin has used in the past, is using at present or may use in the future.
It is so ordered.

Submission: 18 April 2023 | Determination: 24 April 2023 | Verdict: 05 June 2023 | Sentence: 01 July 2023