Massachusetts Theft Charges: Shoplifting, Larceny, Receiving Stolen Property, and Identity Fraud

Massachusetts theft charges cover materially different accusations. A concealed item at a register, a disputed refund, alleged embezzlement arising from business records, and a fraudulent credit application can lead to different charges with different elements and penalties.

The defense turns on four things: which section the Commonwealth charges, the alleged value and type of property, the evidence of intent, and the procedural stage. The classification and penalty can turn on the charged statute, the property, the value, and any prior offenses. Under the general larceny statute, whether the charge is a felony or a misdemeanor often turns on value, but a firearm is treated as felony property regardless of value. Intent is frequently contested because taking property by mistake, under a claim of right, or without the intent to deprive the owner permanently is not larceny.

Many first-offense shoplifting and lower-value larceny cases begin with an application for a criminal complaint and a clerk-magistrate hearing rather than an arrest and an arraignment. Where that is how the case starts, whether a criminal complaint issues at all can turn on the work done before the hearing.

This page introduces the principal categories and links to the detailed page for each charge. Attorney Joe Serpa has practiced Massachusetts criminal defense since 1995. Serpa Law Office can be reached at 617.936.0201.

Shoplifting: M.G.L. c. 266, § 30A

Shoplifting is a criminal offense, not a civil matter. Section 30A covers concealing merchandise, taking it away, altering or removing a price tag, transferring goods between containers, recording a false value, and removing a shopping cart, in each case with the intent to deprive the merchant.

The penalties depend on the retail value.

Under $250. A first offense is punishable by a fine of up to $250. A second offense is punishable by a fine of $100 to $500. A third or subsequent offense is punishable by a fine of up to $500 or imprisonment in a jail for up to two years, or both. For goods under $250, Section 30A applies to the exclusion of the general larceny statute.

$250 or more. The offense is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 or imprisonment in the house of correction for up to two and a half years, or both.

One feature of the statute affects how these cases begin. Section 30A authorizes a warrantless arrest on probable cause, and it provides that a merchant’s statement that a person violated the section constitutes probable cause for arrest. Whether a particular case starts with an arrest or with an application for a complaint therefore varies, and the availability of a clerk-magistrate hearing turns on that difference.

Full treatment: Massachusetts shoplifting and larceny defense.

Larceny: M.G.L. c. 266, § 30

Section 30 covers stealing, obtaining property by false pretenses, and converting or embezzling the property of another. The three are separate theories, and the Commonwealth must prove the one it charged.

Over $1,200, or a firearm of any value. Punishable by state prison for up to five years, or a fine of up to $25,000 and jail for up to two years. Because a state prison sentence is authorized, this is a felony.

$1,200 or less. Punishable by jail for up to one year or a fine of up to $1,500. This is a misdemeanor.

Where the alleged victim is 60 or older, or a person with a disability. Section 30(5) sets a different threshold and higher exposure: where the value exceeds $250, the offense is punishable by state prison for up to ten years or the house of correction for up to two and a half years, or a fine of up to $50,000, or both.

Value is an element the Commonwealth must prove, and the parties may dispute it. Retail price, actual market value, and the amount the merchant claims can differ.

Larceny by false pretenses requires a false statement of fact, made knowingly, that the other person relied on in parting with the property. A broken promise about the future is not the same as a false statement of existing fact.

Embezzlement applies where the accused lawfully possessed the property and then converted it. These cases usually arise from an employment or fiduciary relationship, and the defense frequently turns on authorization, accounting, and whether the money was ever the employer’s to begin with.

Financial and higher value cases: larceny over $1,200 and Massachusetts financial crimes.

Receiving Stolen Property and Identity Fraud

Receiving stolen property, M.G.L. c. 266, § 60, is a separate offense from the theft itself. The Commonwealth must prove that the property was stolen, that the accused received or possessed it, and that the accused knew or believed it was stolen. Whether the Commonwealth can prove the charge frequently turns on the evidence of knowledge.

Identity fraud, M.G.L. c. 266, § 37E, includes posing as another person with intent to defraud and using that person’s identifying information to obtain money, credit, goods, services, or identification, or to harass. The statute also covers obtaining identifying information with that intent and possessing a tool adapted to access account numbers, passwords, or biometric data under circumstances showing an intent to use it in a larceny.

The offense is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000, imprisonment in the house of correction for up to two and a half years, or both. A person found guilty must also pay restitution for the victim’s financial loss, including qualifying credit-correction costs and lost wages.

The Clerk-Magistrate Hearing

Under M.G.L. c. 218, § 35A, a court ordinarily must give a person who was not arrested notice and an opportunity to be heard before it issues process on a misdemeanor complaint application, subject to the statute’s exceptions. Some theft cases begin this way because a store reports the incident and seeks a complaint instead of having the person arrested.

A denial ends that application. No complaint issues, no arraignment occurs, and the application produces no CORI entry. Once a complaint issues, the case can no longer end through a denial at this prearraignment stage.

It does not mean no record of any kind exists. A police report of the incident can remain in the department’s files. Where there was an arrest, the arrest and booking record can remain. A store may keep its own incident record and may pursue a civil demand separately.

See Massachusetts clerk-magistrate hearings and the clerk-magistrate hearing FAQs.

What the Record Shows, by Outcome

Once a case proceeds to arraignment, the charge appears in CORI regardless of the later disposition. What the entry shows and who can access it turn on the disposition and any sealing order.

The available outcomes include dismissal, a not guilty verdict, pretrial probation, diversion, a continuance without a finding, and a conviction. They are not interchangeable. A continuance without a finding requires an admission to sufficient facts and is treated as a conviction under federal immigration law. Pretrial probation involves no admission and no finding.

An otherwise eligible conviction may be sealed under M.G.L. c. 276, § 100A after the applicable statutory waiting period. A not-guilty finding must be sealed under § 100C unless the defendant objects. After a dismissal or nolle prosequi, the defendant may petition for sealing under § 100C without a waiting period.

Sealing changes what the Commissioner of Probation reports. It does not change the federal immigration treatment of a conviction, and whether a licensing authority may consider the disposition or require its disclosure turns on that authority’s own rules.

See criminal records and outcomes and sealing and expungement.

Immigration Consequences

Theft offenses are frequently treated as crimes involving moral turpitude, and the consequences turn on the specific conviction and the sentence rather than on the label of the charge.

Two federal rules make the Massachusetts numbers matter.

The petty offense exception. For inadmissibility, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(A)(ii)(II) provides an exception where the person committed only one such crime, the maximum penalty possible did not exceed imprisonment for one year, and the sentence imposed was not more than six months. Larceny of $1,200 or less has a one year maximum, which is at the ceiling the exception allows. Larceny over $1,200 has a five year maximum and cannot qualify. A third or subsequent shoplifting offense has a two year maximum and cannot qualify either.

The one year sentence rule. A theft offense with a sentence of one year or more, counting a suspended sentence, raises the aggravated felony question under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(G).

A noncitizen should obtain immigration advice before accepting a disposition because the federal result may depend on the convicted offense and the sentence imposed. See immigration consequences of Massachusetts criminal charges and criminal convictions for immigrants and visa holders.

Professional Licenses and Students

Licensing authorities often ask about allegations involving theft, fraud, or dishonesty, but each profession sets its own reporting questions, triggers, forms, and deadlines. A Massachusetts attorney must notify bar counsel within ten days of a conviction under S.J.C. Rule 4:01, § 12(8), and that rule defines conviction to include an admission to sufficient facts. Other authorities ask different questions, some when a charge is filed and others at renewal. What the person must disclose turns on the wording of the profession’s rule or form.

See criminal defense for licensed professionals.

A student facing a theft allegation may also face a university disciplinary proceeding under the institution’s own schedule and standard. See student criminal defense.

A New Charge While on Probation

A person on probation for an earlier case who is charged with a theft offense faces two proceedings. The new charge does not by itself establish a probation violation. At the surrender hearing, the Probation Department must prove the violation by a preponderance of the evidence, and an acquittal or dismissal of the new charge does not end the surrender proceeding, because the standards in the two proceedings differ.

See Massachusetts probation violation defense and violating a continuance without a finding.

Detailed Theft and Larceny Pages

• Massachusetts Shoplifting and Larceny Defense
• Larceny Over $1,200 and Massachusetts Financial Crimes

Serpa Law Office can be reached at 617.936.0201 for a free and confidential consultation. The Boston office is at 20 Park Plaza #400A. The Quincy Office is at 500 Victory Road, Suite 400A.