Articles Posted in Theft Offenses

You had a few too many drinks and refused to pay your bill at the diner or late night restaurant in Manhattan. You jumped a turnstile in Brooklyn because you though nobody was looking. Maybe you refused to pay your cab driver because he is driving you from NY to the Bronx to Queens and back to NY when you only needed to go to midtown. Believe it or not, your actions may land you either in jail or with a desk appearance ticket (DAT) for the misdemeanor crime of Theft of Services.

An experienced criminal defense attorney can tell you that things that seem to be merely a misunderstanding or a bone-headed move often result in criminal actions. Theft of Services, punishable by up to one year and jail, is one of those offenses. Although there are often legitimate and solid defenses to this crime that need to be explored, Theft of Services generally occurs where you obtain a service and do not pay for that service.

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You and your partner are co-owners of certain assets in a clothing store in Manhattan or a antiques store in Brooklyn. You take some of the businesses assets without informing your partner or getting his permission. The question that arises is can you be found guilty of larceny (grand or petit) for “stealing” from that partner where you both have interests in that property?

An experienced New York criminal defense attorney should be able to give you both the answer and the reason. The short answer is that you should not be found guilty or prosecuted because your partner is not an “owner” under the law.

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A person steals $5000 from a victim in Manhattan, $2000 from a victim in Brooklyn and $45,000 from a victim in White Plains. Jurisdictional issues aside, can each of these crimes be aggregated so that prosecution can charge this person with one count of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree (theft of $50,000 or over) or must there be three separate and lesser counts of Grand Larceny?

The general rule applied in these circumstances is that if there is a scheme whereby a person steals from the same victim or location, then there can be an aggregation. However, the above scenario may be different because the victims and locations are different.

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Whether you are in Manhattan, White Plains or Brooklyn, there is no statute titled “Extortion” in New York. Instead, Extortion is a “type” of Grand Larceny, but just a Grand Larceny none the less. In other words, an individual charged with this crime would be charged on an indictment which read Grand Larceny under the theory of Extortion.

Under Penal Law Section 155.05, larceny occurs when a person with intent to deprive another of property or appropriate the same to himself or to a third person, wrongfully takes, obtains, or withholds such property from an owner. Larceny can be conducted through numerous means including, trick, false promise, acquiring lost property, and yes, extortion.

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