Receiving Stolen Property

What Is Receiving Stolen Property?

Penal Code § 496(a) makes it a crime to buy, receive, conceal, sell, or withhold property that has been stolen — knowing that it was stolen or obtained through extortion.

The Elements

The prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that:

1. You bought, received, sold, concealed, or withheld property from its owner;
2. The property had in fact been stolen or obtained by extortion;
3. When you did so, you knew the property had been stolen; and
4. You knew of the property’s presence.

The third element is the case. Not whether the property was stolen — that’s usually established independently. Whether you knew.

Felony or Misdemeanor?

Following Proposition 47, receiving stolen property valued at $950 or less is generally a misdemeanor, with exceptions for certain prior convictions.

Where the value exceeds $950, it’s a wobbler — chargeable as a misdemeanor or a felony.

As in any theft case, value means fair market value at the time — not retail price and not replacement cost. → Grand Theft

Stolen Vehicles — PC § 496d

A separate subdivision addresses receiving a stolen vehicle, vessel, trailer, or construction equipment. It’s a wobbler regardless of value.

You Cannot Be Convicted of Both Stealing It and Receiving It

Penal Code § 496(a) expressly provides that no person may be convicted both of theft of property and of receiving that same property.

The prosecution has to pick a theory. If the government’s position is that you stole the item, it cannot also convict you of receiving it — and vice versa.

In practice, both charges are sometimes filed in the alternative, which is permitted. But a conviction on both is not, and this is a protection worth knowing about.

How the Prosecution Tries to Prove You Knew

Nobody can see inside your head, so knowledge is built from circumstances. Prosecutors commonly argue:

• The price was far below market value — “you knew it was too good to be true”
• The transaction was unusual — cash only, a parking lot, late at night, no receipt
• The seller couldn’t be identified or gave inconsistent information
• Serial numbers were removed or altered
• The property was in an odd condition — damaged lock, missing packaging, stripped components
• The quantity was inconsistent with personal use
• You had prior dealings with the seller or similar property
• What you said when questioned

Every one of those is an inference, not proof. Secondhand markets exist precisely because people sell things below retail. Cash transactions are ordinary. Private sellers rarely provide receipts. Used property is frequently in poor condition.

The prosecution must prove actual knowledge — not that you should have been more careful. Negligence in a purchase is not a crime.

How These Cases Actually Arise

• Online marketplace purchases — Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, Craigslist, and similar platforms
• Secondhand buys — tools, bicycles, phones, laptops, car parts, musical instruments
• A friend or relative leaves something at your home or in your vehicle
• Accepting property as payment for work or in settlement of a debt
• Swap meets, estate sales, and flea markets
• Pawn shops, repair businesses, and secondhand dealers — where a single transaction can generate a charge against a business owner
• A roommate’s or partner’s property found during a search of a shared space

In several of these, the person charged genuinely did not know — and in some, the property wasn’t even theirs.

The Civil Exposure Most People Don’t See Coming

Penal Code § 496(c) allows a person injured by a violation to bring a civil action for three times the amount of actual damages, plus costs of suit and reasonable attorney’s fees.

That’s treble damages — and it’s available independently of the criminal case.

This provision has been applied beyond classic stolen-property scenarios, reaching into business and contract disputes where property or funds were wrongfully obtained. In practice that means a PC 496 allegation can carry financial exposure substantially larger than the value of the property itself.

If you’re facing a § 496 charge, a civil claim may follow — and the two proceedings affect each other. Statements in one are usable in the other, which is a reason to coordinate both rather than handling them separately.

Penalties

⚠️ VERIFY BEFORE PUBLISHING — figures require Polina’s sign-off. See Open Items.

$950 or less — generally a misdemeanor following Proposition 47, with exceptions for specified prior convictions. County jail exposure, fines, probation, restitution.

More than $950 — a wobbler. Felony treatment carries state prison or county jail exposure under realignment.

Stolen vehicles under § 496d — a wobbler regardless of value.

Consequences Beyond Sentencing

• Civil liability for treble damages under § 496(c)
• Employment. Like any theft-related conviction, it reads as a statement about trustworthiness
• Professional and business licensing — particularly serious for pawn brokers, secondhand dealers, auto repair businesses, and anyone holding a resale license
• Immigration consequences, as theft-related offenses are frequently treated as crimes involving moral turpitude
• Restitution to the property owner
• Loss of the property, which is returned to its owner regardless of what you paid for it

Defenses

You didn’t know it was stolen. The primary defense in nearly every one of these cases. Buying below retail isn’t suspicious — that’s what secondhand markets are. Cash is ordinary. Private sellers don’t issue receipts. The prosecution must prove actual knowledge, not carelessness.

You didn’t possess or control it. Property in a shared home, a shared vehicle, or a space used by multiple people raises a genuine question about whose it was and who knew about it. Constructive possession requires both knowledge and control.

The property wasn’t stolen. Ownership disputes, misunderstandings about authority to sell, and property reported stolen that was actually sold, lent, or abandoned.

You intended to return it. Receiving property with the intent to restore it to its owner, or to turn it over to law enforcement, is treated differently.

You were the thief. An unusual defense, but § 496(a) prohibits conviction for both theft and receiving the same property. If the prosecution’s theory is that you took it, it cannot also convict you of receiving it.

Mistaken identity or wrong location. Particularly where property was found in a shared space during a search.

Valuation below $950. Reduces the exposure and may make the offense a misdemeanor.

Unlawful search or seizure. These cases almost always begin with a search. Where the search exceeded what the law allowed, the property can be suppressed — and without the property, there’s typically no case.

Why a Former Prosecutor Matters

These cases are filed on inference. A report describes a low price, a cash sale, a seller nobody can find — and a filing deputy decides whether that adds up to knowledge.

Polina Logrue made those decisions at the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. She knows which circumstances prosecutors genuinely treat as evidence of knowledge and which ones are filler, what documentation changes a filing position, and how a legitimate secondhand purchase can be demonstrated to someone whose starting assumption is that it wasn’t one.

She also knows these cases frequently resolve before filing, when a purchase record, a message thread, or a marketplace listing can be put in front of the prosecutor.

→ Pre-Filing & Investigation

Meet Polina →

Charged or Questioned? Do This First

1. Don’t explain the purchase. Not to police, not in writing. Everything you say about the transaction goes to the knowledge element.
2. Preserve the transaction record — the marketplace listing, the message thread, payment records, the seller’s profile, screenshots. Do this immediately; listings get deleted.
3. Document what you paid and what comparable items were selling for at the time.
4. Identify the seller if you can — name, profile, phone number, where you met.
5. Don’t consent to further searches of your home, vehicle, or devices.
6. Note who else had access to the space where the property was found.
7. If a civil demand follows, don’t respond to it without counsel.
8. Call before giving any statement.

Call (949) 758-4469 · Free Consultation

Related Charges

• Theft & Property Crimes — Penal Code §§ 484, 487
• Grand Theft — Penal Code § 487
• Burglary — Penal Code § 459
• White Collar Crimes — where § 496 is alleged in a business context
• Pre-Filing & Investigation
• Expungements