California Penal Code 496 makes it a crime to buy, receive, conceal, sell, or help withhold property you know was stolen or obtained through extortion. It is a “wobbler”: prosecutors can charge it as a misdemeanor or a felony, and the dividing line is usually whether the property is worth more than $950. A misdemeanor carries up to one year in county jail; a felony carries up to three years. Victims can also sue in civil court for three times their actual damages.
What PC 496 Covers
Subdivision (a) of the statute reaches further than the shorthand “receiving stolen property” suggests. You can be charged for buying or receiving stolen goods, for hiding them, for selling them, for withholding them from the owner, or for helping someone else do any of those things. The property does not have to come from a traditional theft; items obtained through extortion count too.1California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 496 – Receiving Stolen Property
The thread running through all of these acts is knowledge. You have to know, or strongly believe, the property was stolen at the time you handle it. Learning the truth afterward does not, on its own, make you criminally liable.
What the Prosecution Has to Prove
To convict you under PC 496(a), the prosecution has to establish three things beyond a reasonable doubt.
- The property was stolen or obtained by extortion. This is usually proved through police reports or the owner’s testimony that the item was taken without consent.
- You received, concealed, sold, or withheld it. Possession can be physical or constructive. Stolen goods in your car, your apartment, or a storage unit you control all qualify.
- You knew it was stolen when you took it. Actual knowledge and a strong belief that the goods were illicitly obtained are treated the same way. Juries can infer knowledge from circumstances: a price far below market value, an unfamiliar seller in an unusual setting, or obvious red flags you ignored.
Knowledge is the element most cases turn on, and it is the element defense attorneys target hardest.
Misdemeanor or Felony: The $950 Line
If the fair market value of the property at the time you received it is $950 or less, PC 496 is a misdemeanor. That threshold was written into the statute by Proposition 47 in 2014.1California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 496 – Receiving Stolen Property It lines up with Penal Code 490.2, which broadly treats theft of property worth $950 or less as misdemeanor petty theft.2California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 490.2 – Petty Theft
Above $950, the offense becomes a wobbler. Prosecutors decide whether to file misdemeanor or felony charges based on the facts and your criminal history. There is one carve-out at the low end: even if the property is worth less than $950, felony charges remain on the table if you have a prior conviction for a “super strike” offense listed in Penal Code 667(e)(2)(C)(iv), or a prior offense that requires sex-offender registration under Penal Code 290(c).1California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 496 – Receiving Stolen Property
Penalties on Conviction
Misdemeanor
A misdemeanor conviction carries a maximum of one year in county jail.1California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 496 – Receiving Stolen Property PC 496 does not set its own fine, so Penal Code 672 lets the court impose one of up to $1,000.3California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 672 Many defendants receive summary probation in place of jail time, serving court-imposed conditions in the community.
Felony
A felony conviction is sentenced under Penal Code 1170(h) on a triad of 16 months, two years, or three years in county jail.4California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 1170 The judge picks the specific term based on the facts and your prior record. The applicable fine, again via Penal Code 672, runs up to $10,000.3California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 672
Restitution to the Victim
On top of jail and fines, Penal Code 1202.4 requires the court to order restitution covering the victim’s economic loss in full. For stolen property, that means the replacement cost of a comparable item, or the actual cost of repair if the property was damaged but recovered.5California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 1202.4 A restitution order is enforceable like a civil judgment and can follow you long after your sentence ends.
Civil Lawsuits Under PC 496(c)
Independent of any criminal case, PC 496(c) lets anyone injured by a violation of subdivision (a) or (b) sue in civil court for three times their actual damages, plus court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees.1California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 496 – Receiving Stolen Property A criminal conviction is not required. The plaintiff only has to prove the elements of PC 496 by a preponderance of the evidence, which is a lower bar than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard in criminal court.
Defenses
Because knowledge is the hardest element for the prosecution to prove, it is also the most common line of defense. Showing that you had no reason to suspect the goods were stolen can defeat the charge outright. A reasonable purchase price, a legitimate-looking seller, and an ordinary transaction setting all cut against the inference that you knew.
An “innocent intent” defense applies if you received the property specifically intending to return it to the owner or hand it over to law enforcement. The intent has to exist at the moment of receipt. If you originally planned to return the item and later decided to keep or sell it, the defense fails.
Other defenses attack different elements: that the property was not actually stolen, that you never had possession or control, or that your connection to the goods was too thin to count as possession. Which defense fits depends on the specific facts.
You Can’t Be Convicted of Both Stealing and Receiving
Someone who actually stole the property can be charged under PC 496 as a receiver, but the statute bars a conviction for both stealing and receiving the same item.1California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 496 – Receiving Stolen Property Prosecutors sometimes file both counts and let the evidence sort it out at trial. The trier of fact can convict on one or the other, not both, for the same property.
Extra Risks for Non-Citizens
A PC 496 conviction can carry immigration consequences that outlast any criminal sentence. Under federal immigration law, a theft offense (which includes receipt of stolen property) qualifies as an “aggravated felony” if the sentence imposed is at least one year.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1101 – Definitions An aggravated felony designation can trigger mandatory deportation, permanent inadmissibility, and the loss of most forms of relief from removal. Even a misdemeanor with a one-year jail sentence can meet the threshold. Immigration courts look at the sentence imposed, not time actually served, so the difference between a 364-day and a 365-day sentence can be decisive. If you are not a U.S. citizen, talk to an immigration attorney before accepting any plea.
When Federal Charges Come In
If the stolen goods crossed state lines, federal law can apply alongside or instead of PC 496. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2315, receiving stolen property that has moved across a state or national boundary is a federal offense when the goods are worth $5,000 or more, with a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2315 – Sale or Receipt of Stolen Goods, Securities, Moneys, or Fraudulent State Tax Stamps This comes up most often with organized theft rings, stolen vehicles driven out of state, and large-scale fencing operations. A single transaction can expose you to prosecution in both state and federal court.