Penal Code § 496 PC – Receiving Stolen Property – California Law

California Penal Code § 496 PC prohibits receiving stolen property. This is buying, receiving, concealing, selling or withholding any property you know that was obtained through theft or extortion.

Receiving stolen property is a wobbler crime, meaning it can be either a misdemeanor or a felony, as the following chart shows:

PC 496 Charge	California Penalties
Misdemeanor receipt of stolen goods	Summary probation or up to 1 year in jail, and/or Up to $1,000
Felony receipt of stolen goods	Formal probation or 16 months, 2 years, or 3 years in jail, and/or Up to $10,000

Below our California criminal defense attorneys discuss the following topics re. receiving stolen property:

• 1. Elements
• 2. Defenses
• 3. Penalties
• 4. Immigration Consequences
• 5. Expungements
• 6. Gun Rights
• 7. Full Text of the Statute
• 8. Related Offenses
• Additional Reading

1. Elements

Many California theft offenses focus on taking or stealing another person’s property. In contrast, Penal Code 496 PC makes it a crime to knowingly receive stolen property. ¹

California Criminal Jury Instruction “CALCRIM” 1750 spells out the elements of receiving stolen property.² For you to be convicted of violating PC 496, prosecutors must prove the following two elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

1. You bought, received, sold or aided in selling, concealed or withheld property that had been stolen from another,³ and
2. When you did so, you knew that the goods had been either:
   • stolen (such as through larceny, embezzlement, burglary, or robbery) or
   • obtained by extortion (which is using force or fear to get property).⁴

Meaning of “Receive”

To receive property means to take possession and control of it.⁵ Note that you do not have to be the sole possessor of the items: We handle cases where two or more people allegedly possessed the items at the same time.⁶

Also note that you can “possess” items without actually holding or touching them. The concept of “constructive possession” basically says that you possess goods if you have:

• Control over them or
• The right to control them.⁷

Example: Susan steals some jewelry from a store. She takes it to her neighbor’s house – Michael and Kim. Susan offers Michael $200 to let her bury the goods in his yard to hide it. He agrees but he never touches the jewelry or holds it. Susan buries the gems.

Here, Michael is guilty of receiving stolen property. While he never “possessed” the jewelry, he had the right to control it since it was in his yard. Kim can even be guilty of the same offense if Michael told her about it. Two people can co-possess goods at the same time.

Meaning of “Knowledge that Property was Stolen”

A key element of PC 496 is that you knew the property was stolen when you received it.⁸ However, we have seen some business owners get convicted even if the prosecutor cannot prove that they actually knew the goods were stolen.

For example, swap meet vendors and people whose primary business is dealing with or collecting merchandise or personal goods can be convicted of receiving stolen property if:

1. They acquired the goods and should have had reason to suspect they were stolen, and
2. They failed to inquire into whether the goods were actually stolen.⁹

2. Defenses

Here at Shouse Law Group, we have represented literally thousands of clients accused of theft crimes such as receipt of stolen property. In our experience, the following four defenses are very effective with prosecutors, judges, and juries:

1) You Did Not Know the Goods Were Stolen

This is our most successful defense because prosecutors often lack evidence to prove what you did and did not know.

Typical circumstantial evidence we rely on includes recorded communications, eyewitness accounts, and surveillance video. As long as there is a reasonable doubt that you had any idea the items were stolen, then you should not be convicted.

2) You Intended to Return the Goods (“Innocent Intent”)

Under the “innocent intent” defense, you are not guilty under PC 496 as long as you intended to return the items to the owner (or bring them to law enforcement).

Example: Roman owns a car shop. A woman comes to him and tells him she wants to sell him a stolen SUV. Roman is offended and wants to try and bust the woman. He buys the car and then takes it to the police. Here, Roman is not guilty of receiving stolen items because he had an “innocent intent.”

Note, though, that this defense applies only if:

1. You intended to return the items at the time you received them, and
2. You did not later change your mind.¹⁰

The “innocent intent” defense can work if there is no evidence that you planned to keep the property for yourself or to sell it. This lack of evidence may create a reasonable doubt that you had criminal intent.

3) You Never Received the Property

Recall that you must “receive” stolen items to be guilty under this law. Therefore, you committed no crime as long as the D.A. cannot prove that you ever possessed or had control over the items in question.

In most of these cases we handle, the police have no video of stolen property being received. Or else any available video is too grainy to make out the people involved.

This lack of evidence creates another opportunity for us to raise a reasonable doubt as to your guilt.

4) You Received the Property by Accident

The central element to PC 496 charges is that you intended to possess stolen property. If you came to possess the property by accident, then you broke no law.

We have had cases where we were able to argue that perhaps someone planted the property on our client or left it in our client’s home or office without their knowledge. This may raise enough reasonable doubt to prompt the D.A. to reduce or dismiss the charge.

3. Penalties

If receipt of stolen property is charged as a misdemeanor in California, the crime is punishable by:

• Misdemeanor (or summary) probation,
• Up to 1 year in jail, and
• Up to $1,000.¹¹

If receipt of stolen property is charged as a felony, the offense carries:

• Felony (or formal) probation,
• 16 months, 2 years, or 3 years in jail, and/or
• Up to $10,000.¹²

Note that a PC 496 violation is always charged as a misdemeanor if the total value of the property involved is $950 or less. It does not matter whether the violation was a first or a subsequent offense.¹³

Also note that victims may be entitled to collect three times the amount of their damages plus attorney fees and costs.

Multiple Pieces of Stolen Property

If you allegedly receive more than one piece of stolen property through a single transaction, you face only one PC 496 charge for that transaction. If the combined value of all the property is $950 or less, you would face a misdemeanor charge.

Enhanced Penalties for Property Loss Exceeding $50,000

In felony cases where the property involved has more than $50,000 in value, PC 12022.6 requires the court to impose an additional prison term, as the following table shows:

Value of the Property Loss	Additional Prison Term in Felony Cases
More than $50,000 to $200,000	1 year
More than $200,000 to $1,000,000	2 years
More than $1,000,000 to $3,000,000	3 years
More than $3,000,000	4 years (plus 1 year for each additional property loss of $3,000,000)

Double Jeopardy Protections

You cannot be convicted of both stealing property and also receiving the same stolen property. You can be convicted of only one or the other.

4. Immigration Consequences

Since receiving stolen property in California is a crime involving moral turpitude, a conviction can result in non-citizens being deported.

Therefore, non-citizens should retain legal counsel as soon as possible to try to get their charges dismissed or reduced to a non-deportable offense.

5. Expungements

You can get a “receiving stolen property” conviction expunged from your record in California once you:

• Complete probation or
• Serve the entire jail term.¹⁴

The expungement process releases you from virtually “all penalties and disabilities” of having a conviction.

6. Gun Rights

A felony conviction of receipt of stolen goods in California will cause you to lose your right to possess, carry, or own a firearm. It may be possible to restore your gun rights through a pardon.

7. Full Text of the Statute

The language of the code section reads as follows:

Penal Code 496. Receiving or concealing stolen property; Duty of swap meet vendor or personal property dealer or collector to make reasonable inquiry; Action for damages; Attempts

(a) Every person who buys or receives any property that has been stolen or that has been obtained in any manner constituting theft or extortion, knowing the property to be so stolen or obtained, or who conceals, sells, withholds, or aids in concealing, selling, or withholding any property from the owner, knowing the property to be so stolen or obtained, shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170. However, if the value of the property does not exceed nine hundred fifty dollars ($950), the offense shall be a misdemeanor, punishable only by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, if such person has no prior convictions for an offense specified in clause (iv) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 667 or for an offense requiring registration pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 290.

A principal in the actual theft of the property may be convicted pursuant to this section. However, no person may be convicted both pursuant to this section and of the theft of the same property.

(b) Every swap meet vendor, as defined in Section 21661 of the Business and Professions Code, and every person whose principal business is dealing in, or collecting, merchandise or personal property, and every agent, employee, or representative of that person, who buys or receives any property of a value in excess of nine hundred fifty dollars ($950) that has been stolen or obtained in any manner constituting theft or extortion, under circumstances that should cause the person, agent, employee, or representative to make reasonable inquiry to ascertain that the person from whom the property was bought or received had the legal right to sell or deliver it, without making a reasonable inquiry, shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170.

Every swap meet vendor, as defined in Section 21661 of the Business and Professions Code, and every person whose principal business is dealing in, or collecting, merchandise or personal property, and every agent, employee, or representative of that person, who buys or receives any property of a value of nine hundred fifty dollars ($950) or less that has been stolen or obtained in any manner constituting theft or extortion, under circumstances that should cause the person, agent, employee, or representative to make reasonable inquiry to ascertain that the person from whom the property was bought or received had the legal right to sell or deliver it, without making a reasonable inquiry, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

(c) Any person who has been injured by a violation of subdivision (a) or (b) may bring an action for three times the amount of actual damages, if any, sustained by the plaintiff, costs of suit, and reasonable attorney’s fees.

(d) Notwithstanding Section 664, any attempt to commit any act prohibited by this section, except an offense specified in the accusatory pleading as a misdemeanor, is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170.

8. Related Offenses

• Embezzlement – Penal Code 503 PC
• Extortion – Penal Code 518 PC
• Grand theft – Penal Code 487 PC
• Petty theft – Penal Code 484 PC
• Receiving a stolen vehicle – Penal Code 496d PC
• Theft/appropriation of lost property – Penal Code 485 PC

Additional Reading

For more information, see our related articles:

• Can I be charged with theft and receiving stolen property? – Explanation of how double jeopardy typically bars prosecution of both theft and receiving stolen property unless the property is a vehicle.
• What is the “statute of limitations” for theft in California? – Discussion of how most misdemeanor theft charges have a one-year statute of limitations while most felony theft charges have a three-year statute of limitations.
• How much theft is a felony? – Overview of the factors that lead prosecutors to bring felony theft charges.
• Petty theft vs. grand theft – What’s the difference? – Explanation of how stealing $950 or less is petty theft rather than grand theft.
• Is “return fraud” a crime in California? – Discussion of how returning stolen goods that you never bought is a crime.

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