Can You Be Charged With Theft for Keeping Something You Found in New Jersey?
You are walking through an Atlantic City casino, leaving a restaurant, crossing a parking lot, or spending the day at the Jersey Shore when you notice something that someone else left behind.
Maybe it is a wallet on the ground. A phone on a bench. Cash near an ATM. A casino voucher or another item that appears to have been forgotten.
You pick it up.
At first, you might not think of what happened as theft. You did not take the property out of someone’s pocket, break into anything, or walk into a store intending to steal.
But finding property does not necessarily mean you are free to keep it.
New Jersey has a specific law addressing property that has been lost, mislaid, or delivered by mistake. If you are accused of theft after keeping property you found, what you knew about the property and its owner, what you intended to do with it, and what happened afterward can become important parts of the case.
Can Keeping Something You Found Be Theft in New Jersey?
Yes, under certain circumstances.
N.J.S.A. 2C:20-6 addresses property that is lost, mislaid, or delivered by mistake. Simply coming across someone else’s property is not theft by itself.
Under the statute, theft can occur when a person gains control of another person’s property, knows it was lost, mislaid, or delivered by mistake, knows who owns it, intends to deprive the owner of it, and converts it to the person’s own use.
That is why what happens after the property is found matters. Finding a phone on the floor of an Atlantic City casino is one thing. Learning who owns it and then keeping, using, selling, or transferring it can present a different legal question.
The State still has to establish the knowledge, purpose to deprive, and other facts required under the statute.
Does It Matter Whether You Knew Who Owned the Property?
Yes.
Knowledge of the owner is an important part of N.J.S.A. 2C:20-6.
That can make the facts surrounding the property especially important.
A wallet containing a driver’s license and credit cards may provide information identifying the owner. A phone may display identifying information or incoming messages. An item left at a casino table, restaurant, hotel, store, workplace, or other location may be traceable to a particular person.
Other situations can be much less clear.
If cash is lying by itself in a public place with nothing identifying who dropped it, the factual questions can look different from a situation in which a person knows exactly who owns the property.
That does not mean every dispute turns entirely on whether a name appeared somewhere on the item. It means the State’s evidence concerning what you knew about the property and its owner can be central to the allegation.
Can You Be Charged if Money or Property Was Sent to You by Mistake?
Yes. N.J.S.A. 2C:20-6 is not limited to property someone physically drops or leaves behind. It also applies when money or property is delivered by mistake, including when something is sent to the wrong person or the recipient receives more than intended.
Receiving something by mistake does not automatically establish theft. What matters includes when you realized there was an error, whether you knew who was entitled to the property, and what you did after recognizing the mistake.
New Jersey also has specific rules for certain erroneous electronic payments between individuals. If you knew or should have known that a covered payment was sent to you by mistake, were properly notified, and did not return the money within 30 days of notification, those facts can give rise to a permissive inference of theft.
If you were not notified within 180 days after the transfer, the statute allows a permissive inference that you did not know the payment was erroneous. The law also provides an affirmative defense when a qualifying erroneous payment is returned within 30 days of receiving it or being notified of the error.
For someone accused after receiving money by mistake, the timeline matters: When did the money arrive? When did you recognize the mistake? When were you notified? Was the money returned, and if so, when?
What If You Thought the Property Was Abandoned?
That can become an important factual issue.
Property that was intentionally abandoned presents a different question from property that was simply lost or temporarily left somewhere.
You might see an object beside a trash container, left in a hotel room, sitting in a common area, or placed somewhere that makes its status unclear. You may believe the owner intentionally discarded it, while the owner says it was only temporarily left behind.
New Jersey theft law also recognizes a claim-of-right defense in certain circumstances. Under N.J.S.A. 2C:20-2, an honest belief that the property was yours or that you had a right to acquire or dispose of it can be legally significant.
That does not mean saying “I thought I could keep it” automatically defeats a charge.
The surrounding facts still matter. Where the item was found, its condition, whether identifying information was present, what anyone told you, and what you did after obtaining it can all affect whether that explanation is consistent with the evidence.
What Evidence Can Matter in a Lost-Property Theft Case?
These cases often turn on details that occurred before and after the property was found.
Depending on where the incident occurred, relevant evidence can include:
- Casino, hotel, store, or restaurant surveillance footage
- Police body-camera footage
- Security reports
- Text messages or other communications
- Records showing when the property was used, sold, transferred, or returned
- Information identifying the owner
- Statements made to security or police
- Witnesses who saw where the property was located or how it was obtained
- Receipts, account records, or transaction histories associated with the property
The sequence of events can help show what you knew and what you did after taking control of the property. Surveillance, messages, transaction records, and statements can become important in determining when you learned who owned the property and whether it was kept, used, transferred, or returned.
A criminal defense attorney can review that evidence alongside the specific charge to identify which facts support or challenge the elements the State would need to establish.
How Serious Is a Theft Charge for Keeping Lost Property in New Jersey?
The seriousness of a New Jersey theft charge often depends on the value of the property involved.
Under current New Jersey law, theft is generally:
- A disorderly persons offense when the amount involved is less than $200.
- A fourth-degree crime when the amount is at least $200 but does not exceed $500.
- A third-degree crime when the amount exceeds $500 but is less than $75,000.
- A second-degree crime when the amount is $75,000 or more.
Certain types of property and theft offenses have different grading rules, so value is not always the only factor used to determine the degree of the charge.
That can make the value of a phone, jewelry, cash, electronics, a casino-related item, or other property especially important when you are trying to understand the charge against you.
The grade of the charge also does not tell you exactly how a particular case will end. Your prior record, the evidence, available defenses, and the ultimate resolution can all affect the consequences you face.
Why Does What You Did After Finding the Property Matter?
If security or police accuse you of keeping something that did not belong to you, your first reaction might be to explain what happened.
You might say you thought the property had been abandoned. You might explain that you planned to return it later. You might try to describe when you realized who owned it.
Those details can be important, but your statements can also become evidence about what you knew and intended.
Before making additional statements about a theft allegation, it is important to understand exactly what the State claims happened and what evidence already exists.
You should also avoid deleting communications, altering records, destroying or concealing property, or asking someone else to hide or change evidence connected to the incident.
Preserving the available evidence can help your attorney evaluate the allegation based on the complete sequence of events.
Facing a Theft Charge in South Jersey After Keeping Found Property?
If police, casino security, store security, or a property owner is accusing you of theft because you kept something you found, where the property was found, what you knew about its owner, what you did afterward, and what the evidence shows can all matter.
At the Law Offices of John W. Tumelty, I represent people facing theft and other criminal charges in Atlantic City, Atlantic County, Cape May County, and communities throughout South Jersey. As a former prosecutor with decades of criminal law experience, I review the specific charge and the evidence the State is relying on.
If you have been accused of theft after keeping property that was lost, mislaid, mistakenly delivered, or that you believed had been abandoned, contact the Law Offices of John W. Tumelty to discuss what happened and understand the legal issues involved before your court date.
Disclaimer: The articles on this blog are for informative purposes only and are no substitute for legal advice or an attorney-client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice, please contact the law firm directly.
