What's happening
This bill allows multiple larceny offenses committed as part of a common scheme to be treated as a single offense based on total value.
Why it matters
Makes it easier to prosecute serial offenders. by allowing prosecutors to combine multiple related thefts into a single, more serious charge based on the total value stolen, rather than treating each incident separately.
Could result in harsher penalties. for offenders who commit several smaller thefts as part of a coordinated scheme, since the aggregated value may push the offense into a higher felony category.
Addresses organized or systematic theft. (such as retail theft rings or repeated embezzlement) by recognizing and targeting patterns of criminal behavior rather than isolated acts.
May serve as a deterrent. to those who might otherwise commit repeated small-scale larceny, by increasing the legal risks associated with multiple offenses conducted under a common plan.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Add Up Theft Totals
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to codes
- Committed to rules
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.488
- Referred to codes
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
439
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 4, 2017
Introduced by Sen. PERALTA -- 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 the commission of larceny
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 155.20 of the penal law is amended by adding a new subdivision 5 to read as follows:
5. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of this section, in the case of multiple violations of the provisions of this article constituting a common scheme, such violations may be deemed to be a single offense defined in this article based on the aggregate value of all property taken, obtained or withheld for all such multiple violations constituting a common scheme.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00142-01-7
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 the commission of larceny
Purpose
This bill amends Section 155.05 of the Penal Law to define a crime of larceny as including the aggregate amount of property stolen by a person in a common scheme to defraud
Summary of provisions
Section 1 amends Subdivision 1 of Section 155.05 of the Penal Law to define larceny as including the aggregate amount of property illegally appropriated to oneself, or a third party, in a common scheme to defraud
Section 2 amends Subdivision 2 of Section 155.20 of the Penal Law to define the "value" of property involved in a larceny to include the aggregate market value of all the property taken, obtained, or withheld during a common scheme to defraud
Section 3 sets forth the effective date of the law.
Justification
As acts of larceny have rapidly evolved to include a wide range of computer crimes, mortgage fraud and compounded instances of identity theft, the State's district attorneys are often left without the necessary tools to prosecute defendants in correlation with the magnitude of their wrongdoing.
For instance, if a bad actor commits two unique acts of deed fraud resulting in the theft of real estate valued at $600,000, those two acts cannot be aggregated under current law to surpass the $1 million threshold that allows for prosecution of a defendant under Grand Larceny in the First Degree, a Class B felony. Rather, prosecutors are restricted to filing two counts of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, where the current dollar amount threshold is $50.000. Grand Larceny in the Second Degree is a Class C felony and punishable by significantly lighter penalties. However, the fact remains that the defendant in this scenario has stolen more than a million dollars of property, as part of a single, coordinated criminal scheme.
Prior legislative history
2015-2016 S6727B
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.