Obtaining Property by False Pretenses in Connecticut

Obtaining property by false pretenses and obtaining property by false promise are larceny crimes in the state of Connecticut. If you face one of these charges, you can get the information that you need to defend yourself here.

Obtaining Property by False Pretenses

Obtaining property by false pretenses is a form of larceny, as I’ve stated above. Larceny is defined as the theft of personal property by the state of Connecticut. Connecticut statutes also outline what obtaining property by false pretenses is.

Obtaining property by false pretenses happens when one person obtains property from another person by false token, pretense, or device. As with most fraud crimes, to face conviction of this crime, the state must prove some things. It must be proven that you intended to defraud someone by obtaining their property. If the state cannot prove this, you likely won’t get convicted of this crime. Or, you might receive minimal penalties.

One common example of this crime happens if you obtain health insurance by intentionally lying about your medical history or conditions. For example, if you fill out a questionnaire and claim that you are a nonsmoker when you know that the coverage would have been denied if you admit that you do smoke, you would be committing obtaining property by false pretenses from a health insurance company. If, on the other hand, you absentmindedly or accidentally indicate that you are a nonsmoker on the questionnaire even if you are a smoker, you might be able to argue that you did not purposefully try to deceive the health insurance company.

Obtaining Property by False Promise

Larceny happens when a person obtains property by false promise. This happens when they get someone else’s property by saying that someone will engage in particular conduct. This action constitutes this crime when the person does not intend to engage in such conduct.

Or, it happens when they do not believe that the third person intends to engage in such conduct. This means that the defendant must be knowingly deceiving the other party. They do this in order to obtain property for this to be considered a crime. If deceit was not intended, the action probably won’t constitute this crime. Also, this happens if the person was unable to fulfill an obligation for reasons beyond their control.

For example, you would commit obtaining property by false promise if you tell someone you will give them $25,000 for their car if you never intend to pay this money for the vehicle. When the person gives you the car and transfers the title to your name, they do so on the condition that you will pay for the car. If you do not pay, then you have obtained property by a false promise to the car’s owner.

Getting Help

Determining if your situation fits the crime of obtaining property by false pretenses or obtaining property by false promise can be difficult. To help you do this, it can be helpful to contact a criminal defense attorney. The lawyers at Ruane Attorneys have worked with larceny and obtaining property by false pretenses cases before. We can review your situation with you and help you figure out the best way to move forward.