Also known as: receive stolen goods · receives stolen goods · received stolen goods · receiving stolen property
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The common law offense committed when a person receives possession or control of personal property that retains its stolen character. The recipient must know that another obtained the property through criminal conduct and must intend to deprive the true owner permanently of it.
Maria, a used-vehicle dealer, buys a stolen motorcycle from Carlos for cash without asking questions. She regularly acquires vehicles from unofficial sources. Because she is in the business of buying stolen property and the item is a motor-propelled vehicle, her offense is graded as a felony of the third degree.
Priya agrees to store cartons of unopened medications in her controlled cold room after Marcus offers cash for help finding buyers. The medications bear valid expiration dates far in the future and lack required paperwork. Priya exercises control with knowledge that the goods are stolen and intends to help keep them from the manufacturer.
Diego allows a stranger to park a truck loaded with marked power tools inside his fenced site in exchange for keeping two tools. The tools display another contractor's logo. Diego exercises control over the stolen items with knowledge of their illicit origin and intends to keep them permanently.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Lena purchases designer handbags with intact store tags and alarm sensors from a stranger at half price after hours. She stores the bags in her kiosk intending to resell them. The circumstances establish that Lena knew the bags were stolen and intended to deprive the department store of them permanently.
Gregory pays cash for batches of brand-new tagged clothing and electronics from teenagers without requesting identification. He quickly resells the items. The repeated transactions and lack of documentation show Gregory received the goods knowing they were stolen and intended to profit from them.
Kelvin buys fifteen late-model cars from Holly for cash without titles after registration checks reveal several were reported stolen. He continues purchasing additional vehicles. The sustained pattern after notice establishes that Kelvin received the cars knowing they were stolen and intended to deprive the owners permanently.
The elements are receipt of possession or control of personal property that retains stolen status, knowledge that another obtained it through criminal conduct, and intent to deprive the true owner permanently. Each element must be satisfied for conviction.
No. Control is sufficient. A defendant exercises control by directing where the goods are stored or by accepting them as payment even without personally moving them.
Theft by receiving is a felony of the third degree if the amount exceeds $500, if the property is a listed motor-propelled vehicle, or if the receiver is in the business of buying or selling stolen property. Either condition independently triggers felony grading.
Yes. Circumstantial evidence such as steep discounts, lack of documentation, brand-new tagged merchandise, and inconsistent seller explanations can support an inference that the dealer believed the property had probably been stolen.
Yes. Persistence after actual notice of theft supports the conclusion that the buyer is in the business of receiving stolen property and therefore elevates the offense to a felony of the third degree.
…Court of Common Pleas of Franklin County, Ohio, convicted respondent of forgery of a check in the name of Bernard Isaacs and of receiving stolen property, namely, checks in the name of Isaacs and his wife. The checks had been taken from the Isaacs' home, which had been burglarized. At respondent's preliminary hearing, the prosecution called…