Theft

Theft is defined under North Dakota Century Code 12.1-23. The statute breaks down several definitions, depending on whether it was a physical object stolen or a service.

North Dakota's theft statute covers a broad range of prohibited conduct, including theft of property or services, fraud, embezzlement, extortion, receiving stolen property, and shoplifting.

Because theft is a crime of dishonesty, it involves intentionally taking property or obtaining services belonging to another without consent or payment.

A conviction for this offense can result in serious consequences for both employment opportunities and one's personal reputation. If you have been accused of committing any form of theft in North Dakota, it is important that you consult an attorney as soon as possible to learn about your legal rights and options.

Theft is an umbrella term that encompasses taking property, services, or money with the intention to permanently deprive the rightful owner of it. This can be done by physically taking the property outright or through more deceptive means like extortion, fraud, and embezzlement.

Depending on the circumstances of your case, you can be charged with any of the theft crimes listed below.

This is the most “traditional” form of theft. It involves knowingly taking or using someone else's property without consent, or intentionally depriving another of their property by deception or threat.

This covers situations where someone intentionally obtains services for free, when it is known these services are only available in exchange for compensation. Essentially, this means avoiding making payment for services rendered. It can involve knowingly diverting services to your own benefit when you are not entitled to do so.

North Dakota law states that individuals can be charged with theft if they come into possession of property that has been lost, mislaid, or delivered by mistake. Importantly, the individual must know that the property was not intended for them. For instance, say a package was delivered to the wrong address and clearly stated the name and address of the rightful owner. If you kept it knowing it wasn’t yours, you could be charged with theft. When this happens, you must make reasonable attempts to return the property to the rightful owner.

Embezzlement is a white-collar crime that is often defined as the theft of money, property, or services from a company or non-profit. A person commits embezzlement when they take ownership of another’s assets, property, or money by fraudulently using it for their own benefit. In many cases, embezzlement involves the abuse of a position of trust.

For example, if a company has a business account and uses it to pay the company expenses, the owner may entrust the bookkeeper with writing checks to pay those bills. If the bookkeeper writes checks from that account to pay their own personal expenses, or uses them for purposes other than official business use, that could be considered embezzlement.

In criminal law, obtaining property or services by false pretenses occurs when a person obtains something of value by making a false claim with the intent to deceive. The false claim must have been made with the intent to defraud, and not merely an innocent mistake. Thus, if someone makes a claim that they believe is true, even if it is ultimately found to be incorrect, they cannot be charged with obtaining property or services by false pretenses.

The elements of obtaining property or services by false pretenses vary from one jurisdiction to another. Generally, a person must make a statement that is not true with the intent to defraud another person. The statement must also affect the victim's decision about whether to give up property or perform a service.

Blackmail is the name for a particular type of extortion or coercion, in which a person threatens to reveal information about a victim to the public, a family member, or colleagues unless a demand for money, property, or services is met.

The information threatened to be revealed is typically embarrassing, socially damaging, and/or incriminating. For example, blackmail could involve threatening to reveal that someone has had an affair. The demand of money or services is typically an attempt at economic extortion.

Blackmail victims often have no choice but to comply with the demands of their blackmailers. This may be because they are afraid of the potential revelations about themselves or about someone else if they do not submit to those demands. Victims may also feel that there is nothing that can be done about their situation if they refuse to pay money demanded by their blackmailer.

The crime of receiving stolen property is exactly what it sounds like — taking possession of, or otherwise dealing in, something that was stolen. Receiving stolen property laws vary by state and jurisdiction, but they all have a few things in common. The first is that the defendant must have known or should have known that the property was stolen when he received it.

Generally speaking, there are two ways to be guilty of receiving stolen property. The first is to accept possession of something that you know has been stolen. A perfect example of this would be if someone gave you a brand-new television set for $50 and didn't tell you how he got it. You would immediately become a suspect for receiving stolen property because the price was so low and the circumstances were suspicious.

The other way you can commit this crime is if you make no effort to determine whether or not the item or items in question were stolen before accepting them from another person. If you go to a yard sale and purchase a laptop computer that was reported as stolen and the seller doesn't know anything about its history, you may still be guilty of receiving stolen property because you failed to exercise reasonable care in determining its status as legitimate property.

The term "misappropriation of public funds" refers to the misuse of public money by a public official or agency. The crime, which can be prosecuted in federal or state court, occurs when a public official uses their position for personal gain.

At it’s core, it’s the intentional wrongful taking of money or property belonging to the people, without authority of law and with no justifiable purpose.

A common example of misappropriation involves using government money for personal gain. Here are some other examples:

• Paying an employee with taxpayer money

• Signing fraudulent receipts or making false statements to cover up wrongdoing

• Failing to deliver equipment purchased with federal funds

• Reimbursement for a spouse's travel expenses using taxpayer dollars

• Using government vehicles for personal use

• Excessive spending on entertainment, travel, and meals

• Misusing grants, contracts, and other funding received from the federal government

Swindling or misapplication of entrusted property is a crime that involves the fraudulent obtaining or misusing of another person's property. This type of fraud is one of the most common types of crime committed against the elderly.

The key element to swindling or misapplication of entrusted property is the fact that one person obtains property by tricking, deceiving, or persuading another person to transfer the property.

In other words, the victim must have given up their property to the defendant willingly because they were tricked into doing so by some form of deception. A common example of this occurs when a con artist tricks an elderly person into signing over ownership of their home by convincing them that they need to own it in order to qualify for a government program. If the elderly person had not been tricked into signing over ownership, then he would not have done so willingly.

In addition to being tricked into giving up her property, the victim must have also suffered some type of harm because she was deceived into giving up her ownership rights. This harm can occur in many different ways, but typically occurs when the victim loses money or suffers some other form of financial loss as a result of the deception.

The crime can also be charged if a person is given property to sell in order to make money off the sale, but instead of selling the property, the person keeps it for themselves.

Shoplifting is committed when a person takes possession of goods offered for sale by any store or merchant with the intention of depriving the merchant of the possession, use, or benefit of such goods without having paid the full purchase price.

While many people think that shoplifting involves concealing merchandise in a bag, pocket, or under clothing, in actuality shoplifting can occur any time goods are taken out of a store without paying for them. It can even occur when goods are altered or switched so you pay less than you should by switching or removing price tags or bar codes.

Burglary is an illegal entry into a building for the purposes of committing a crime. No actual theft needs to take place for a burglary to occur. If, for example, someone is caught breaking into a car with no intent to steal anything, it can still be considered a burglary because their intent was to commit another crime.

Robbery is taking something from someone by force or threat of force. For example, if you get robbed at gunpoint or if someone threatens bodily harm unless you hand over your wallet or purse, it’s considered robbery.

Theft and larceny mean the same thing. It’s defined as taking something that doesn’t belong to you without permission with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of it. Theft can be committed by stealth (without using force), such as shoplifting or pickpocketing. It can also include embezzlement (using money entrusted to you).