Lisa Pelosi: I think what’s going on now, what I see and a lot of people are being accused of these crimes now and they actually are innocent of them is there’s a lot of credit card — people getting identities — taking identity, taking social security numbers and creating identities. A lot of times, there are innocent people that are given the cards and they think it’s a legitimate card of someone that they met and they start dating them and they have the card and they say, you know, doing a favor to go purchase some things and the person uses the card thinking that it’s a legitimate to use it and then they’re arrested and they find that the card was actually fraudulent. So, I think now, with the social security numbers list getting out and people’s information getting out, there are a lot of people arrested for cases involving bank frauds and credit cards and items such as that.
Writing or Trying to Cash a Hot Check Can Be Construed as a Theft Charge
Interviewer: What about hot checks, would that be considered like a theft charge?
Lisa Pelosi: Yes, that would be an example of a theft charge. There are cases where people take other people’s checkbooks and write checks for themselves, or people who work for companies who have the authority to write checks and they inappropriately write checks and sometimes, people are behind on their bills and they think that if they just do it once or twice, they can get on their feet and they’re arrested for those types of thefts.
White Collar Crimes Usually Refer to People Who Are at a Higher Level of Business
Interviewer: When they refer to like white-collar crimes, I think we touched on this before but what sort of white-collar crimes would involve theft?
Lisa Pelosi: I think those are usually referred to people who are at a higher level of business, sometimes have access to certain computer or information and wiring and transferring money into false accounts, so that’s usually referred to as white-collar crime in a form of theft.
The Employment Related Implications of Being Charged with a Theft Offense
Interviewer: What could a theft charge prevent me from doing?
Lisa Pelosi: The theft charge, people who are charged with theft charges have a hard time getting new employment because a potential employer is going to be very suspicious of someone who has been accused of stealing. I think the general principle that they don’t want someone who’s convicted of stealing working for them. Anytime you’re arrested, it should be taken seriously and you should get a good criminal defense attorney who’s an expert in that field but also, with theft charges, they’re not crimes of violence and often times, you can get probation for clients but the goal should always be to try to get the case dismissed because down the road, as people make sure and look for work or want to apply to grad schools or get different licenses, they might be prevented from getting employment opportunities because of the theft charge.
The Penalties Imposed Upon Conviction for Theft Charges in New York
Interviewer: What are some of the penalties that some people can be facing, from the minimum to the maximum on account of theft?
Lisa Pelosi: With misdemeanors, they can face up to a year in jail, and then from a fine up to a year in jail. Depending upon the amount stolen or if there’s violence involved with the robbery, you know, it could go up to many, many years in upstate prison. So, it all depends on someone’s record and it depends on how much is taken, someone was hurt during the course of the theft and if a weapon was used, so anywhere from many, many years in jail to just a dismissal depending on the facts and circumstances.
