Chapter 11 Crimes against Property History of Criminally Taking Other People s Property Cybercrime crimes aimed at the valuable information contained in computers and wireless devices especially computer databases accessible through the internet Robbery taking property by force or the threat of force a violent crime against persons and their property Larceny taking and carrying away a person s property without the use of force and with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of possession Conversion wrongfully possessing or disposing of someone else s property as if it were yours Tangible property personal property not real estate Intangible property property worth nothing by itself but is proof of something of value such as stock options bonds notes trademarks licenses and patents Embezzlement the crime of lawfully gaining possession of someone else s property and later converting it to one s own use Abuse of trust crimes crimes growing out of opportunities to get someone else s property that was entrusted to the perpetrators because of their occupation now known as white collar crimes White collar crimes crimes growing out of opportunities to get someone else s property that was entrusted to the perpetrators because of their occupation Fraud a general term that means getting property by deception Common Law Fraud obtaining another s property by simple deception Obtaining property by false pretenses in modern law often called theft by deceit making false representations concerning past or present facts with the intent to defraud another Theft intentionally getting control of someone else s property includes larceny embezzlement and false pretense crimes Larceny and Theft Consolidated Theft Statutes eliminate needlessly separating theft into distinct offenses according to their actus reus comprises crimes of taking and carrying away converting or swindling to gain possession of someone else s property People v Gasparik White Collar Crime Federal Mail faud includes schemes to defraud or for obtaining money or property using the U S mail U S v Maze Ponzi scheme a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to investors from their own money or money paid by subsequent investors rather from any actual profit earned Robbery Robbery actus reus an act or threat of force beyond the amount needed to take and carry away someone else s property Robbery mens rea the intent to take another person s property and keep it permanently with the additional intent to use immediate force or the threat of immediate force to get it The Degrees of Robbery 1 Whether robber are armed 2 Whether the robber acted alone or with accomplices 3 The kind and degree of injury robbers inflict on their victims Receiving Stolen Property Receiving stolen property benefiting from the theft of someone else s property without having participated in the wrongful acquisition in the first place Fences receivers of stolen goods or places where stolen goods are bought Receiving Stolen property actus reus the act of receiving and controlling at least temporarily but not necessarily possessing the property Receiving stolen property mens rea depending on the jurisdiction knowing or believing that received goods are stolen Sonnier v State Damaging and Destroying Other People s Property Arson damaging or destroying structures by burning Criminal Mischief damaging or destroying personal property Burning setting a building on fire Arson mens rea common law mens rea requires a malicious and willful intent to burn or set fire to buildings general intent mens rea requires only the intent to start a fire First Degree Arson burning homes or other occupied structures such as schools offices and churches where there s danger to human life Second Degree Arson includes burning unoccupied structures vehicles and boats Criminal Mischief Malicious mischief common law crime of intentionally damaging or destroying another s tangible property o Destruction or damage by fire explosives or other dangerous acts the original malicious mischief o Tampering with tangible property so as to endanger property o Deception or threat that causes someone to suffer money loss Actus reus in destruction or damage criminal mischief the actus reus is burning exploding flooding or committing some other dangerous act in tampering its any act that threatens or endangers property in deception or threat its causing harm through deception or threats Commonwealth v Mitchell Invading Other People s Property Burglary and Criminal Trespass Burglary Breaking and entering a building or structure with intent to commit a crime inside the building Breaking in burglary part of the actus reus of common law burglary requiring an unlawful frequently destructive entry into someone else s building Entering part of the actus reus of burglary meaning to come or go into the building or structure Surreptitious Remaining element the entering of a structure lawfully with the intent to remain and commit a crime inside Occupied structure Any structure vehicle or place adapted for overnight accommodations of persons or for carrying on business therein whether or not a person is actually present Dwelling of another anyplace whether other people live Burglary Mens rea The intent to commit the actus reus the intent to commit Jewell v State a crime once inside the structure broken into entered or remained in Criminal Trespass Criminal trespass in property crime the unwanted unauthorized invading of another person s property The Elements of Criminal Trespass 1 The defendant knowingly enters or remains without authority or by invitation license privilege or legality 2 The defendant has the specific intent to enter or remain without authority for some unlawful purpose 3 The defendant bears strict liability for entering or remaining The Degrees of Criminal Trespass 1 Misdemeanor entering or remaining in an occupied dwelling at night 2 Petty misdemeanor entering or remaining in any occupied building or structure 3 Violation entering or remaining in anyplace where a no trespass notice is given warning to person no trespassing sign or fence Cybercrime Intellectual Property ideas and their practical application owned by an individual business or a society Identity Theft the most frequently committed crime in the U S its stealing another person s identity for the purpose of getting something of value Remsburg v Docusearch Inc Spoofing when an attacker compromises routing packets to direct a file