Grand Larceny in Massachusetts: Penalties, Defenses, and Sealing

Grand larceny in Massachusetts is felony-level theft under Chapter 266, Section 30 of the General Laws: stealing property worth more than $1,200, or stealing a firearm or trade secret regardless of value. A conviction carries up to five years in state prison, or up to two years in a county jail combined with a fine of up to $25,000.¹ The statutes themselves never use the phrase “grand larceny,” but that $1,200 line is what separates a felony from a misdemeanor with far lighter consequences.

What Makes a Theft Grand Larceny

Massachusetts defines larceny broadly. It covers outright stealing, obtaining property through a false pretense, and converting or hiding someone else’s property with intent to steal it.¹ The charge applies whether or not the property was already in the defendant’s hands, which is how embezzlement fits under the same statute.

The offense crosses into felony territory when any one of these is true:

The fair market value of the property is more than $1,200.
The stolen item is a firearm, at any value.
The stolen item is a trade secret, at any value. The statute defines trade secrets broadly to include tangible, intangible, and electronically stored information covering secret technical, scientific, production, or management material.²

One common misunderstanding: pickpocketing does not automatically become a felony just because the theft is from a person. Take $200 from someone’s pocket and the charge is still a misdemeanor under Section 30, because the value falls below $1,200. Theft from a person only triggers enhanced penalties when the victim is elderly or disabled.

Below the $1,200 line the offense is a misdemeanor, capped at one year in jail and a $1,500 fine, with no state prison exposure. Shoplifting under $250 has its own statute (Section 30A) with much lower penalties; shoplifting at $250 or more falls back under the general larceny statute.³

Penalties for a Felony Larceny Conviction

Section 30 gives the judge a choice between two sentencing tracks:

Up to five years in state prison, or
Up to two years in a county jail or house of correction, plus a fine of up to $25,000.¹

These are ceilings. Judges have wide discretion, and a first-time offender who took $1,500 in merchandise will not see the same sentence as someone who embezzled $100,000 over several years. Criminal history, the circumstances, and the defendant’s cooperation all factor in.

Restitution and the First-Offense Rule

Courts routinely order restitution in the amount of the unrecovered property’s value. Massachusetts law adds a meaningful incentive: on a first conviction for simple larceny, a defendant who pays full restitution for the unreturned property cannot be sentenced to state prison.⁴ Jail time remains possible, but the harshest option is off the table. If you are facing a first offense, paying the victim back in full before sentencing is one of the highest-leverage moves available.

Theft From Elderly or Disabled Victims

Massachusetts treats theft from vulnerable people far more harshly, and two provisions run in parallel.

Under Section 25, stealing directly from the person of someone aged 65 or older is punishable by up to five years in state prison or up to two and a half years in jail, with no minimum value. A second conviction carries a mandatory minimum of two years, and the defendant must serve at least one year before becoming eligible for parole, furlough, or work release.⁵

Section 30(5) reaches broader: any theft from a person aged 60 or older, or from a person with a disability. When the value exceeds $250, the maximum climbs to ten years in state prison or two and a half years in jail, with fines up to $50,000. Even at $250 or below, the offense still carries up to two and a half years in jail and a $1,000 fine.² Prosecutors in elder-fraud cases rarely settle for the lower charge.

Defenses to a Grand Larceny Charge

The prosecution must prove the defendant intended to permanently deprive the owner of the property. That intent element is where most defenses begin.

No Intent to Steal

If the defendant borrowed the property and planned to return it, or genuinely believed it was abandoned, there is no larceny. Taking your neighbor’s lawnmower without asking is rude but not theft unless the prosecution can prove you never intended to bring it back. Text messages, return timelines, and witness testimony about statements made at the time can all cut against the intent argument.

Claim of Right

Massachusetts recognizes a defense when the defendant honestly believed they had a right to the property, even if that belief was mistaken. The Supreme Judicial Court has held that an honest belief in entitlement, even one that is not objectively reasonable, negates the intent required for larceny.⁶ The test is subjective good faith. This comes up in disputes between business partners, family members fighting over inherited property, and cases where someone takes back an item they genuinely believe is theirs.

Fighting the Valuation

Because $1,200 decides felony versus misdemeanor, the valuation fight can be the whole case. The prosecution must prove fair market value at the time of the theft, not original purchase price or replacement cost. A five-year-old laptop that retailed for $1,800 might be worth $400 today. Appraisals, comparable sales, and depreciation evidence can push the number below the felony line.

Suppression of Evidence

If police obtained evidence through an unlawful search or seizure, the defense can move to suppress it. Massachusetts applies the exclusionary rule, which bars the prosecution from using illegally obtained evidence. A successful motion can gut the case. Common grounds include searches without a valid warrant, stops without reasonable suspicion, and interrogations conducted without proper Miranda warnings.

Consequences Beyond the Sentence

The prison term and fine are only the visible layer. A felony larceny conviction produces effects that outlast the sentence itself.

Immigration

Larceny, grand or petty, is classified as a crime involving moral turpitude under federal immigration law.⁷ For a noncitizen, a single conviction can trigger deportation, denial of a visa, or a bar on future admission. The immigration stakes can dwarf the criminal ones.

Firearms

A felony larceny conviction triggers a federal prohibition on possessing, purchasing, shipping, or receiving firearms or ammunition. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922, anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment is barred from firearm possession.⁸ Because Massachusetts grand larceny carries up to five years, it automatically clears that bar.

Bank and Financial Industry Jobs

Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act prohibits anyone convicted of a crime involving dishonesty from working at an FDIC-insured bank without prior written FDIC approval. Larceny qualifies. Banks must run background checks and cannot let someone with a covered conviction begin work unless the FDIC grants consent or a narrow exemption applies.⁹ For practical purposes, a theft conviction locks people out of the industry unless they successfully navigate that application.

Sealing a Larceny Conviction

Massachusetts allows people to petition the Probation Service to seal criminal records after a waiting period. For a felony larceny conviction, the wait is seven years from the date of conviction or release from incarceration, whichever is later. A misdemeanor larceny conviction can be sealed after three years on the same measurement.¹⁰ The clock does not start until all terms of the sentence, including probation, are complete. Sealed records are hidden from most employers on a standard CORI check, though certain government agencies and licensing boards can still see them.

1
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Code 266 – Section 30 – Larceny; General Provisions and Penalties
2
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 266, Section 30
3
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 266, Section 30A
4
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 266, Section 61
5
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 266, Section 25
6
Justia. Commonwealth vs. Carl B. Liebenow, Jr.
7
U.S. Department of State. Foreign Affairs Manual – Ineligibility Based on Criminal Activity – Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts
9
eCFR. Subpart L – Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act
10
Mass.gov. Find Out if You Can Seal Your Criminal Record