COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 371
(By Senator Caldwell)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported February 26, 2003.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section twenty-four, article three,
chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to enhanced
criminal penalties for obtaining money, property and services
by false pretenses from persons sixty-five years of age and
older.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty-four, article three, chapter sixty-one of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY.
§61-3-24. Obtaining money, property and services by false
pretenses; disposing of property to defraud creditors;
penalties.
(a) (1) If a person obtains from another by any false
pretense, token or representation, with intent to defraud, any
money, goods or other property which may be the subject of larceny; or
(2) If a person obtains on credit from another any money,
goods or other property which may be the subject of larceny, by
representing that there is money due him or her or to become due
him or her, and assigns the claim for such money, in writing, to
the person from whom he or she obtains such money, goods or other
property and afterwards collects the money due or to become due,
without the consent of the assignee and with the intent to defraud;
(3) Such That person is guilty of larceny. If the value of
the money, goods or other property is one thousand dollars or more,
such the person is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary in a state correctional
facility not less than one year nor more than ten years or, in the
discretion of the court, be confined in the county or regional jail
not more than one year and be fined not more than two thousand five
hundred dollars. If the value of the money, goods or other
property is less than one thousand dollars, such the person is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
confined in the county or regional jail not more than one year or
fined not more than two thousand five hundred dollars, or both
fined and imprisoned.
(b) If a person obtains by any false pretense, token or
representation, with intent to defraud, the signature of another to
a writing, the false making of which would be forgery, the person
is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
imprisoned in the penitentiary a state correctional facility not less than one year nor more than five years or, in the discretion
of the court, be confined in jail not more than one year and fined
not more than two thousand five hundred dollars.
(c) (1) If a person removes any of his or her property out of
any county with the intent to prevent the same from being levied
upon by any execution; or
(2) If a person secretes, assigns or conveys or otherwise
disposes of any of his or her property with the intent to defraud
any creditor or to prevent the property from being made liable for
payment of debts; or
(3) If a person receives the property of another with the
intent to defraud any creditor or to prevent the property from
being made liable for the payment of debts;
(4) The person is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined not more than two thousand five hundred
dollars and be confined in a county or regional jail not more than
one year.
(d) If a person, firm or corporation obtains labor, services
or any other such thing of value from another by any false
pretense, token or representation, with intent to defraud, the
person, firm or corporation is guilty of theft of services. If the
value of the labor, services or any other such thing of value is
one thousand dollars or more, the person, firm or corporation is
guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
imprisoned in the penitentiary a state correctional facility not
less than one year nor more than ten years or, in the discretion of the court, be confined in a county or regional jail not more than
one year and be fined not more than two thousand five hundred
dollars. If the value of the labor, services or any other such
thing of value is less than one thousand dollars, the person, firm
or corporation is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be confined in a county or regional jail not more
than one year or fined not more than two thousand five hundred
dollars, or both in the discretion of the court fined and
imprisoned.
(e) Theft of services includes the obtaining of a stop payment
order on a check, draft or order for payment of money owed for
services performed in good faith and in substantial compliance with
a written or oral contract for services, with the fraudulent intent
to permanently deprive the provider of such labor, services or
other such thing of value of the payment represented by such check,
draft or order. Notwithstanding the penalties set forth elsewhere
in this section, any person, firm or corporation violating the
provisions of this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than two times the face
value of the check, draft or order.
(f) Prosecution for an offense under this section does not bar
or otherwise affect adversely any right or liability to damages,
forfeiture or other civil remedy arising from any or all elements
of the criminal offense.
(g) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the
contrary where the victim of an offense set forth in the provisions of subdivision (1) or (2), subsection (a) of this section or the
provisions of subsection (b) of this section is sixty-five years of
age or older, the penalty for a violation of the provisions of
subdivision (1) or (2), subsection (a) of this section or
subsection (b) of this section shall be confinement in a county or
regional jail for not less than ten days nor more than one year or
a fine of not more than five thousand dollars, or both: Provided,
That any person convicted of a second or subsequent violation of
the provisions of subdivision (1) or (2), subsection (a) of this
section where the victim in both or all cases was sixty-five years
of age or older, shall be guilty of a felony and confined in a
state correctional facility for not less than one nor more than ten
years, a fine of not less that five thousand dollars nor more than
ten thousand dollars, or both.
(h) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the
contrary where the victim of an offense set forth in the provisions
of subsection (b) of this section is sixty-five years of age or
older, the penalty for a violation of the subsection shall be
confinement in a county or regional jail for not less than two nor
more than ten years, a fine of not less than twenty-five hundred
dollars nor more than ten thousand dollars, or both.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide enhanced
criminal penalties for obtaining money, property and services by
false pretenses from persons sixty-five years of age and older.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.)