New Jersey Criminal Statute Guide
N.J.S.A. 2C:20-6: Theft of property lost, mislaid, or delivered by mistake
Finding property or receiving money by mistake is not theft at the first moment of possession. Liability turns on knowledge of the mistake or loss, knowledge of the owner’s identity, purpose to deprive, and conversion to personal use.
Plain English
What 2C:20-6 actually prohibits
A person who controls another’s property known to be lost, mislaid, or delivered by mistake commits theft only if the person knows the owner’s identity and, with purpose to deprive that owner, converts the property to personal use.
A 2025 amendment adds electronic-payment rules. Proper notice of an erroneous payment followed by no return within 30 days permits, but does not require, an inference of theft. No notice within 180 days permits an inference that the recipient did not know it was erroneous. Return within 30 days of receipt or notification is an affirmative defense for an erroneous electronic payment.
What the State must prove
- Control of property belonging to another and knowledge that it was lost, mislaid, or mistakenly delivered as to nature, amount, or recipient.
- Knowledge of the owner’s identity.
- Conversion to personal use with a purpose to deprive the owner, plus value or category facts establishing degree.
Degree and Exposure
The grading rules matter
General theft grading under 2C:20-2 applies: DP below $200, fourth degree at $200 through $500, third degree above $500 but below $75,000, and second degree at $75,000 or more, subject to special categories and permissible aggregation.
| Level | Ordinary imprisonment range | Maximum ordinary fine | Usual court |
|---|---|---|---|
| Second-degree crime | 5 to 10 years | $150,000 | Superior Court |
| Third-degree crime | 3 to 5 years | $15,000 | Superior Court |
| Fourth-degree crime | Up to 18 months | $10,000 | Superior Court |
| Disorderly persons offense | Up to 6 months | $1,000 | Municipal Court ordinarily |
These are statutory maximums and ordinary degree ranges, not a prediction of sentence. Restitution, assessments, probation conditions, merger, consecutive-sentence rules, prior record, and offense-specific provisions can change the practical result.
Proof Problems
The evidence is charge-specific
When knowledge arose
Finder circumstances, labels, wallet contents, bank descriptions, payment-app records, and communications may show whether and when the owner or mistake became known.
Proper notice
For the electronic-payment inference, content, sender identity, delivery proof, processor records, disputes, and notice date should be preserved and tested.
Conversion and return
Spending, transfer, sale, concealment, segregation of funds, attempted return, police delivery, and timing bear on conversion and purpose to deprive.
Defense Analysis
Issues counsel should test
Owner unknown
The section expressly requires knowledge of the owner’s identity. Finding anonymous property without identifying information presents a different case from ignoring a known owner.
No purpose to deprive
Safekeeping, reasonable verification, attempted return, or leaving disputed funds untouched may contradict purposeful conversion.
Electronic-payment safe harbor
For an erroneous electronic payment, return within 30 days of receipt or notification is an affirmative defense under the 2025 amendment.
A possible issue is not an automatic dismissal. Its value depends on the admissible record, the exact subsection charged, and what the State can prove beyond a reasonable doubt.
Charge Boundaries
Related, but not interchangeable
Theft by unlawful taking: That provision addresses an unlawful taking or control from the outset; 2C:20-6 addresses initially found or mistakenly delivered property.
Theft by deception: If the accused induced the mistaken transfer through purposeful deception, 2C:20-4 may be the more direct theory.
Civil repayment claim: An obligation to repay mistaken funds can exist without proof beyond a reasonable doubt of knowing purposeful criminal conversion.
Indictable crimes are ordinarily handled in Superior Court. A disorderly persons or petty disorderly persons charge is ordinarily heard in municipal court unless it travels with indictable counts or is otherwise transferred. The complaint and later charging documents control.
Practice and court resources
Common Questions
Questions about 2C:20-6
Can I keep money sent to my payment app by mistake?
Not safely when you know the sender and the mistake. Proper notice followed by failure to return within 30 days permits an inference of theft, while timely return is an affirmative defense.
What if the notice looked like a scam?
That bears on knowledge and whether notice was proper. Preserve the original messages, processor communications, account history, and efforts to verify rather than sending funds through an unverified channel.
Does the 30-day rule apply to every lost item?
No. Those express timing rules apply to erroneous electronic payments through a payment processor. The general lost-or-mislaid-property elements govern other property.
Primary Sources
Read the law and current court instructions
- New Jersey Legislature lookup for N.J.S.A. 2C:20-6 (section text and amendment history).
- New Jersey Legislature bulk statutes archive.
- New Jersey Courts, current Model Criminal Jury Charges. Search the exact citation; not every offense or subsection has a model charge.
- N.J.S.A. 2C:43-3 fines and restitution and N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6 ordinary prison terms.
Source verification: section language and amendment history checked against the Legislature bulk text through L.2025, c.405 on September 5, 2026. Sentencing ranges were checked against N.J.S.A. 2C:43-3 and 2C:43-6 in the same snapshot. The Judiciary’s live model-charge index was checked September 5, 2026; because model charges are revised separately, its current entry should be used at the time of a case.
The citation is only the starting point.
Bring the complaint, charging language, and any release or no-contact conditions. We can discuss what this particular allegation requires and where the proof may be contested.
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Source verification completed September 5, 2026 against the New Jersey Legislature bulk statutes through P.L.2025, c.405, the exact Title 2C section, applicable sentencing statutes, and the New Jersey Judiciary’s current model-charge index. Primary sources: Legislature statute archive and Judiciary model charges. This is source verification, not a representation of attorney review. Laws change; nothing here is legal advice for your specific case.