What is “Theft by Deception”?

It’s just a form of Theft.  Alabama law says there are several ways one can commit Theft.  One of those is just plain taking property that doesn’t belong to you.  But another is to knowingly obtain property “by deception” with intent to deprive the owner.  When this is the charge, people refer to it as “Theft by Deception.”

There’s a legal definition of “deception.”  The law says deception occurs when a person knowingly:  a. Creates or confirms another’s impression which is false and which the defendant does not believe to be true; or b. Fails to correct a false impression which the defendant previously has created or confirmed; or c. Fails to correct a false impression when the defendant is under a duty to do so; or d. Prevents another from acquiring information pertinent to the disposition of the property involved; or e. Sells or otherwise transfers or encumbers property, failing to disclose a lien, adverse claim, or other legal impediment to the enjoyment of the property when the defendant is under a duty to do so, whether that impediment is or is not valid, or is not a matter of official record; or f. Promises performance which the defendant does not intend to perform or knows will not be performed.

Failure to perform, standing alone, however, is not proof that the defendant did not intend to perform.

It’s impossible for that crime to occur unless the person accused of it did one of those things defined as deception AT THE TIME OF OR BEFORE OBTAINING ANY PROPERTY FROM THE COMPLAINING WITNESS. 

If the person accused intended to keep his promises at the time of receiving something from the complaining witness, but later became unable to keep those promises, that’s not Theft by Deception.  It might be breach of contract, but it’s not theft by deception.

Breach of contract is grounds for a civil lawsuit.  It basically means that the parties had an agreement and one of them held up his end of the deal while the other did not.  While breach of contract is grounds for a civil lawsuit, it is NOT grounds for a criminal prosecution.

Complicating the situation even more is the fact that our Founding Fathers gave us a Bill of Rights under which the State would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that, at the time the defendant received payment from the complaining witnesses, he intended THEN to rip them off. 

Alabama Theft by Deception Law: https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/title-13a/chapter-8/article-1/section-13a-8-10/

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