What's happening
This bill creates a new crime of theft by failing to properly handle or distribute funds received as legally required.
Why it matters
Targets misuse of entrusted funds. This bill specifically addresses situations where someone receives money or property with a legal or contractual obligation to use or distribute it in a certain way, but instead intentionally treats it as their own—filling a gap not always covered by traditional theft laws.
Broadens accountability for government and financial employees. Officers or employees of government agencies and financial institutions are presumed to know their legal obligations, making it easier to prosecute cases where public or client funds are mishandled or misappropriated.
Facilitates prosecution even without tracing specific assets. The law applies even if it’s impossible to identify the exact property or funds that should have gone to the victim, which is particularly important in cases involving pooled or fungible assets.
Creates new deterrence for financial misconduct. By establishing this as a class A misdemeanor, the bill aims to deter individuals in positions of trust from misusing funds and increases the legal tools available to protect clients, taxpayers, and beneficiaries from financial harm.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Criminalize Fund Misuse
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to codes
- Referred to codes
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Criminalize Fund Misuse
In Assembly Committee · Codes · Sponsor Anthony Brindisi
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2732
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 17, 2017
Introduced by Sen. GRIFFO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing the crime of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 165.18 to read as follows: § 165.18 Theft by failure to make required disposition of funds
received.
1. A person is guilty of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received when he or she obtains property upon agreement, or subject to a known legal obligation, to make specified payments or other disposition, whether from such property or its proceeds or from his own property to be reserved in equivalent amount and he or she intentionally deals with the property obtained as his or her own and fails to make the required payment or disposition. Theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received applies notwithstanding that it may be impossible to identify particular property as belonging to the victim at the time of the failure of the actor to make the required payment or disposition.
2. An officer or employee of the government or of a financial institution is presumed:
(a) to know any legal obligation relevant to his or her criminal liability under this section; and
(b) to have dealt with the property as his or her own if he or she fails to pay or account upon lawful demand, or if an audit reveals a shortage or falsification of accounts.
Theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received is a class A misdemeanor.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02061-02-7
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing the crime of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received
Purpose
To make theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received a class A misdemeanor.
Summary of provisions
Amends the penal law by adding a new section 165.18 to make it a crime to fail to make required disposition of funds received. Theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received would be a class A misdemeanor.
Justification
On average, ambulance service companies lose thousands of dollars a month from patients who have used the ambulance service, their insurance company is billed and the company sends a check to the patient to pay the ambulance. However rather than paying the bill, the person pockets the money and leaves the ambulance services company high and dry.
Ambulance services can take these people to collection agencies, but they still do not receive all the money to which they were originally entitled. These added costs contribute to higher ambulance charges and higher insurance premiums for everyone.
This legislation is an effort to curb this practice of stiffing ambulance services by making it a crime of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received, to be punishable as a class A misdemeanor.
Legislative history
2015-16 - S. 4469/A. 10367 - Codes Committee. 2014 - S. 7395 - Codes Committee.
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
Immediate.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.