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When most people think of Grand Larceny (a.k.a. Grand Theft) they think of big-ticket items, like sports cars. Or they think of huge sums of money, large enough to require a briefcase when converted to cash.

In reality, theft is considered grand larceny if the property in question is worth more than $950.

What is Grand Larceny?

While most Grand Larceny cases involve property exceeding $950, California law has some special exceptions. Some classes of property can be worthless but will continue to carry a Grand Larceny charge.

Here are the exceptions:

• Farm products, including livestock, if the value exceeds $250.
• Ocean and agricultural products are taken from a research facility if the value exceeds $250.
• Any car, regardless of that car’s value.
• Any firearm, regardless of the firearm’s value.

The way you obtained control over the property doesn’t make a difference in how you’re charged. For example, using company money for personal expenses is Grand Larceny, and so is wage theft. Grand Larceny charges can be levied if you gained control of someone else’s property through fraud, too. There is no requirement that you physically hold or move the property or money involved.

One thing that surprises many Beverly Hills residents is they can be charged for using someone else’s property, even with permission. Permission alone is not enough. You must also use the property within the scope allowed by the owner.

For example, your company may grant you the use of a company car exclusively for the purpose of helping you make sales calls throughout the week. If you used the car for your weekend road trip you could be charged with Grand Larceny, because this use was outside of the scope allowed by your employer.

Grand Larceny charges have far-reaching consequences.

Sometimes a Grand Larceny conviction does not result in much jail time. That doesn’t mean a conviction will not have a profound impact on your life.

Being convicted of this crime can bar you from pursuing any careers in the financial sector. It can keep you from any position where you are in a position of public trust. You won’t be able to get security jobs, school jobs, or jobs requiring security clearance.

A Grand Larceny conviction can even keep you out of retail and food services jobs. These types of companies suffer a lot of loss due to employee theft. They won’t want to risk it.

Many educational institutions ask about criminal histories as well, as do many landlords. It can be hard to survive with this crime on your record.

Defending a Grand Larceny Case

To convict you of Grand Larceny, a prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you:

• Gained control or possession of property that did not belong to you.
• If used with permission, the property was used outside the scope allowed by the owner, or the permission was obtained fraudulently.
• Fully intended to steal the property.

If we can disprove any of these items you cannot be convicted, so long as we can convince the jury.

For example, you could pick up a bag at the airport fully believing the bag was yours. You get it home and you find the bag is full of cash. You don’t touch the cash, and you immediately start trying to track down the owner. But before you can do so, the police come knocking on your door. You did not commit Grand Larceny.

The prosecution can certainly show you gained control or possession of property that did not belong to you. But you have demonstrated you had no intent to steal.

Evidence which might support this lack of intent might include your own bag, which we could show looked identical to the bag you took. There will at least be a record of the phone numbers you dialed. All the cash is still there. None of these facts, by themselves, is sufficient to disprove an intent to steal. But when all three facts are taken into consideration, they offer plenty of grounds for reasonable doubt.

In cases where we have a strong defense like this one, we would press to try to have the charges dropped, or to have the case dismissed. If neither of those two things worked we’d use our expertise to prove your innocence in court.

Other defenses include:

• Proving the property was yours in the first place.
• Proving you did, in fact, have permission to use the property.
• Proving your use of the property was within the scope of the owner’s stated permissions.
• Proving any statements you made while obtaining the property was true and honest to the best of your knowledge.
• Proving you never had control of the property at all, and have been falsely accused.
• Demonstrating prosecutors have insufficient evidence to convict, and encouraging them to drop the charges as a result.

What is the penalty for Grand Larceny?

In California, Grand Larceny can be charged either as a felony or as a misdemeanor. A misdemeanor is punishable by one year in jail. Judges also often demand that you pay restitution for the value of the property you stole.

You may see a misdemeanor charge if the value of the property was very low unless the property in question was a firearm. Firearm theft is always a felony.

Felony Grand Larceny can be punished with up to 7 years in jail. The sentence is three years unless the value of the property exceeded $65,000. As the value of the property increases, so too does the length of the sentence.

Note the value of every piece of property is assessed cumulatively. You could steal 10 $100 items and commit Grand Larceny, even though a single $100 item stolen in isolation is a misdemeanor petit larceny charge.

If you’ve been charged with Grand Larceny, get help today.

We’ve helped thousands of Beverly Hills residents and visitors protect their freedom in the face of Grand Larceny charges. Our experience can help you, too.

Call (213) 984-2300 to set up your free consultation.