Property Theft

Property Theft (525)

If you pay attention to the news these days, it is as if theft is no longer a serious crime worthy of punishment. Thieves are stuffing items into garbage bags and biking out the store door while a security guard merely records them. Gangs crash into high-end luxury stores and scoop thousands of dollars of inventory off the shelves and into gunny sacks. Looters use hammers to break into cash registers and clear shelves of high-priced liquor from liquor stores. Small and large businesses are then left to suffer the loss of blatant, unprosecuted theft.

Such acts of theft are more and more common. Even many people are aware that California courts are reluctant to prosecute shoplifters who steal under $1,000. The growing trend to release or not prosecute people arrested for theft might give you the impression that property theft is not that serious of a crime. You can get away with it just like these people and gangs in other states.

Minnesota is not California. Minneapolis, Minnesota has no such prosecution reluctance. Consider the below thefts and possible penalties, which took place not that long ago in the North Star State.

• A coffee shop owner was found guilty of mislabeling coffee packages without accurate net weight, which the owner did for over four years. If convicted, the charge may be a severe felony depending on the estimated amount of the theft.
• A store-front psychic plead guilty to cheating two clients out of tens of thousands of dollars each by claiming she could dispel curses. The psychic is guilty of a most extreme felony, which includes prison time.
• A woman working at her local housing authority was charged with stealing over $200,000 over eight years. If found guilty, the worker will be charged with a most extreme felony, which includes prison time.

Minnesota actively prosecutes property theft. And Minnesota considers falsely representing yourself, falsifying medical claims, intellectual property theft, and other crimes as property theft.

If you have been misled about the seriousness of being charged with property theft or intellectual property theft and have found yourself charged in Minnesota, it is in your best interest to contact an experienced property theft lawyer.

In Minnesota, the consequences of your theft are based on property value. The table below provides a quick look at the consequences of property theft.

Table 1: Theft Penalties

 
Again, Minnesota takes property theft seriously.

If you have been charged with property theft in Minneapolis, Minnesota, it is in your best interest to hire Travis C. Thompson, an experienced property theft defense lawyer, to fight for you. For your free consultation, please call (612) 305-8529.