Impersonating a Public Official

The offense of falsely representing oneself as a government official or employee, other than specifically a police officer, and acting or purporting to act in that assumed official capacity, distinguished from the narrower offense of impersonating a police officer by covering a broader range of civil, administrative and regulatory officials, such as a tax inspector, a court officer, a building or health inspector, or a federal agent. In the United States the offense is codified at the federal level under 18 U.S.C. 912, which criminalizes falsely acting as an officer or employee of the United States and either demanding or obtaining a thing of value in that assumed capacity, and documented schemes exploiting the offense include a fraudster posing as a government official to gain entry to a victim's home or to demand payment of a fabricated fine or fee.