quit job, ex-employer pretending to be me via email

I recently quit a sales position with a medium size ($40M yr) company. This week I found out that two vendors who I work with have received emails from my old company that came from my old email address which is my first name initial followed by my last name. It appears that my ex boss is pretending to be me by using my old email address in an attempt to get information. I am concerned that he may email my customers next. Prior to leaving the company, my boss made it clear that they had the right to look at my emails. Does he also have the right to keep my name on emails that are coming from this company to try to fool customers or vendors into thinking that the email came from me? Is this legal in the state of California? Is this a form of identity theft? Would this be a civil or criminal violation?

[ALawyer]

Forget it guy. If it is company email and a company domain, the employer would likely keep the address. Now that does NOT give the old employer the right to pretend that you are still there and sign new emails with your name, or lie about it if asked.

You CAN notify the customers that you left and give them your new email address. And you can ask nicely that he stop communicating with your customers in a manner likely to mislead them.

Also, be very careful. Someday, somehow, someplace you will likely need a reference from this guy, and seeking to sue him or have him criminally prosecuted would likely turn a poor reference into one similar to that Charles Manson would get.