Jersey City Theft Attorney

Types of Theft

Under New Jersey law theft is defined as conduct where someone unlawfully takes or controls someone else’s property with the intent to deprive the owner of its use or benefit. Theft may involve either movable or fixed property as well as services.

New Jersey law also provides the following definitions of various types of theft:

• Theft by Deception – Creating or reinforcing a false impression, preventing another from acquiring information which would affect their judgment of a transaction, or failing to correct a false impression that was previously created or reinforced
• Theft by Extortion – Taking the property of someone else by threatening to inflict injury, accusing someone of charges, exposing a secret to subject a person to contempt or ridicule, or by other means of inflicting harm
• Theft of property that is lost, mislaid, or delivered by mistake – Coming into control of property with knowledge that it has been lost or given by mistake
• Receiving Stolen Property – Knowingly receiving property that has been stolen or receiving property that the offender has reason to believe is stolen

Penalties

The penalties for a theft conviction often depend on the value or nature of the stolen property or service. If the property or service involved is worth less than $200, then the theft is considered a disorderly persons offense that carries a jail term of not more than six months and a fine not exceeding $1,000.

The offense would be a fourth-degree crime if the value of the property or service is more than $200, but less than $500. This offense would carry a potential prison term of up to 18 months and a fine not exceeding $10,000.

The offense would be a third-degree crime if the value of the property or service is more than $500, but less than $75,000. This offense would carry a prison term that lasts between three to five years and a fine not exceeding $15,000.

The most serious theft-related offenses are classified as second-degree crimes. This would involve property or services worth at least $75,000, a controlled dangerous substance that weighs more than one kilogram, or human remains, as well as all theft by extortion charges (regardless of the alleged value of the extortion). These offenses are punishable by a prison term that lasts between five to ten years and a fine not exceeding $150,000.