§ 537 PC – Defrauding an Innkeeper – California Penal Code

Penal Code § 537 PC defines the California crime of defrauding an innkeeper, which is when a person uses fraud to obtain goods or services from a business without paying for them.  The offense can be charged as a misdemeanor petty theft or a felony grand theft and carries a maximum sentence of up to 3 years in jail.

The full text of the code section reads as follows:

537. (a) Any person who obtains any food, fuel, services, or accommodations at a hotel, inn, restaurant, boardinghouse, lodginghouse, apartment house, bungalow court, motel, marina, marine facility, autocamp, ski area, or public or private campground, without paying therefor, with intent to defraud the proprietor or manager thereof, or who obtains credit at an hotel, inn, restaurant, boardinghouse, lodginghouse, apartment house, bungalow court, motel, marina, marine facility, autocamp, or public or private campground by the use of any false pretense, or who, after obtaining credit, food, fuel, services, or accommodations, at an hotel, inn, restaurant, boardinghouse, lodginghouse, apartment house, bungalow court, motel, marina, marine facility, autocamp, or public or private campground, absconds, or surreptitiously, or by force, menace, or threats, removes any part of his or her baggage therefrom with the intent not to pay for his or her food or accommodations is guilty of a public offense punishable as follows:

(1) If the value of the credit, food, fuel, services, or accommodations is nine hundred fifty dollars ($950) or less, by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) or by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding six months, or both.

(2) If the value of the credit, food, fuel, services, or accommodations is greater than nine hundred fifty dollars ($950), by imprisonment in a county jail for a term of not more than one year, or in the state prison.

(b) Any person who uses or attempts to use ski area facilities for which payment is required without paying as required, or who resells a ski lift ticket to another when the resale is not authorized by the proprietor, is guilty of an infraction.

(c) Evidence that a person left the premises of such an hotel, inn, restaurant, boardinghouse, lodginghouse, apartment house, bungalow court, motel, marina, marine facility, autocamp, ski area, or public or private campground, without paying or offering to pay for such food, fuel, services, use of facilities, or accommodation, or that the person, without authorization from the proprietor, resold his or her ski lift ticket to another person after making use of such facilities, shall be prima facie evidence of the following:

(1) That the person obtained such food, fuel, services, use of facilities or accommodations with intent to defraud the proprietor or manager.

(2) That, if, after obtaining the credit, food, fuel, services, or accommodations, the person absconded, or surreptitiously, or by force, menace, or threats, removed part of his or her baggage therefrom, the person did so with the intent not to pay for the credit, food, fuel, services, or accommodations.

A good or service can include such things as food, fuel, or accommodations at a hotel.

Examples

• finishing an expensive meal at a restaurant, and then taking off without paying the check (dine and dash)
• filling your tank with gas as a full-service gas station and then driving off without paying
• staying at a hotel and then leaving without checking out and paying for board or room service

Defenses

There are several legal defenses that a person can raise if accused of defrauding an innkeeper. These include showing that a defendant:

• had no intent to defraud,
• made an honest mistake, and
• acted under duress.

Penalties

A person that violates Penal Code 537 is charged with a misdemeanor (as opposed to a felony or an infraction) if the value of the goods or services obtained was $950 or less. The theft charge is punishable by:

• imprisonment in the county jail for up to six months, and/or
• a maximum fine of $1,000.

If the value of the theft was greater than $950, then the violation is charged as a wobbler. This means this theft offense can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony. If the latter, the crime can be punished by imprisonment in the California state prison for over a year.

Our California criminal defense lawyers will highlight the following in this article:

• 1. What does defrauding an innkeeper mean?
• 2. Are there defenses to 537 PC charges?
  • 2.1 No intent to defraud
  • 2.2 Mistake
  • 2.3 Duress
• 3. What are the penalties?
• 4. Are there related offenses?
  • 4.1. Shoplifting – PC 495.5
  • 4.2 Petty theft – PC 484(a)
  • 4.3 Grand theft – PC 487

1. What does defrauding an innkeeper mean?

Under Penal Code 537 PC, defrauding an innkeeper means to obtain goods or services from a business without paying for them.

In order to successfully show that a defendant is guilty under this code section, a prosecutor must show three elements of the crime. These are that the defendant:

1. obtained a good or service from a business (e.g., food, lodging, or fuel),
2. obtained them without paying for them, and
3. intended to defraud the business selling the goods/services.¹

In lieu of the above, a prosecutor could try to convict a defendant by showing that:

1. he obtained credit at a business providing a good or service (e.g., a hotel or restaurant), and
2. he did so by use of false pretenses.²

Please note that “defraud” means for a person to practice fraud, or, to use cheating and trickery to gain something of value.

Also note that “false pretenses” is illegally getting money, goods, or merchandise by fraud or misrepresentation, such as a false statement.

2. Are there defenses to 537 PC charges?

A person can try to challenge a PC 537 accusation by raising a legal defense. A legal defense may work to reduce or dismiss a charge.

Three common defenses include:

1. no intent to defraud;
2. mistake; and/or,
3. duress.

2.1. No intent to defraud

Please recall that a person is only guilty if he acts with an intent to defraud (or via the closely associated act of using false pretenses). This means it is always a valid defense for an accused to show that he did not have this requisite intent.

2.2. Mistake

Mistake is a legal defense in which a defendant asserts he did not do a criminal act on purpose: “It was a mistake.” The defense is successful when a defendant shows that:

• he had no criminal intent to do harm;
• he was not acting negligently; and,
• he was engaged in lawful conduct at the time of the accident.

One example is if the defendant honestly wrote down the wrong credit card information.

2.3. Duress

Duress is a legal defense in which an accused basically says: “He made me do it.” The defense applies to the very limited situation in which a person commits a crime (here, defrauding an innkeeper) because somebody threatened to kill him if the crime was not committed.

3. What are the penalties?

A violation of this section is punished based upon the value of the services, goods or merchandise taken.

A person that violates 537 PC is charged with a misdemeanor if the value of the loss was $950 or less.³ The offense is then punishable by:

• imprisonment in the county jail for up to six months, and/or
• a maximum fine of $1,000.

If the value of the service obtained was greater than $950, then the violation is charged as a wobbler. This means it can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony. If the latter, the crime can be punished by imprisonment in the California state prison for over a year.⁴

4. Are there related offenses?

There are three laws related to defrauding an innkeeper. These are:

1. Shoplifting – PC 495.5;
2. Petty theft – PC 484(a); and,
3. Grand theft – PC 487.

4.1. Shoplifting – PC 495.5

Shoplifting is a crime in California per Penal Code 495.5.

California law defines “shoplifting” as entering an open business, with the intent to steal merchandise worth $950 or less.⁵

For most defendants, shoplifting is a misdemeanor under PC 495.5. The potential penalties are:

• up to six months in county jail, and/or
• a fine of up to $1,000.⁶

4.2. Petty theft – PC 484(a)

Penal Code 484(a) makes it a crime for a person to commit petty theft.

The majority of petty theft cases arise when someone simply physically takes property that belongs to someone else. This is known as “theft by larceny.”

Under PC 484(a), petty theft is a misdemeanor.⁷

The maximum penalties for most petty theft convictions are:

• a fine of up to $1,000, and/or
• up to six months in county jail.⁸

4.3. Grand theft – PC 487

Penal Code 487 is the California statute that defines the crime of “grand theft.”

This section defines grand theft as the unlawful taking of someone else’s property, when the property is valued at $950.00 or more.⁹

In most cases, the offense of grand theft per PC 487 is a wobbler. This means that it can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony.¹⁰

The maximum potential sentence for misdemeanor grand theft is up to one year in county jail.

For felony grand theft, a defendant can be sentenced to:

• 16 months,
• two years, or
• three years of incarceration.¹¹

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