Criminal conversion in Indiana is the crime of knowingly or intentionally taking unauthorized control over someone else’s property, even when you never meant to keep it. Under Indiana Code 35-43-4-3, the base offense is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $5,000, and it can escalate to a felony when a motor vehicle is involved.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-43-4-3 – Conversion The civil consequences that follow a conviction often sting more than the criminal sentence itself.
What the Statute Actually Prohibits
The language of Indiana Code 35-43-4-3 is short: a person who knowingly or intentionally exerts unauthorized control over another person’s property commits criminal conversion. The word “knowingly” matters. Accidentally grabbing a friend’s jacket on your way out isn’t conversion. Taking that friend’s car for the weekend without asking is.
Indiana defines “unauthorized control” broadly. Control counts as unauthorized when the owner didn’t consent, when you exceed the scope of consent they did give, or when you obtained the property through deception, including creating a false impression, failing to correct one when you’re in a position of trust, or promising something you know you won’t deliver.2Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-43-4-1 – Offenses Against Property Definitions Keeping rented equipment past its return date, using a company credit card for personal purchases, or selling property you don’t actually own can all fit within the statute.
How It’s Different From Theft
Conversion and theft both involve unauthorized control over someone else’s property. The difference is a single element: theft requires an intent to deprive the owner of the property’s value or use.3Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-43-4-2 – Theft Conversion doesn’t require that extra showing. Taking unauthorized control is enough, regardless of whether you planned to return the property or use it only briefly.
A person who borrows a neighbor’s lawnmower without permission and returns it hours later has likely committed conversion but not theft. A person who takes the same lawnmower intending to sell it has committed theft. Prosecutors sometimes charge conversion as a fallback when the intent-to-deprive element of theft looks hard to prove.
Penalties
Class A Misdemeanor
Most conversion charges stay at the Class A misdemeanor level. The maximum is one year in jail and a $5,000 fine.4Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-3-2 – Class A Misdemeanor Judges often impose probation, community service, or a shorter jail term for first-time offenders or low-value cases. The full statutory maximum is still available, though, and judges use it when the circumstances call for it.
Felony Enhancements for Motor Vehicles
Conversion becomes significantly more serious once a motor vehicle enters the picture. The charge rises to a Level 6 felony if you take unauthorized control of a vehicle with the intent to use it while committing another crime, and to a Level 5 felony if you actually use the vehicle to carry out a felony.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-43-4-3 – Conversion
Leased vehicles have their own felony path. If you lease a car under a written agreement that requires its return by a specific date, and you fail to return it within 30 days after that date or within three days of receiving a written demand for its return, the offense is a Level 6 felony.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-43-4-3 – Conversion
Restitution
Courts can order a convicted defendant to pay restitution directly to the property owner on top of any fine. Indiana Code 35-50-5-3 gives judges that authority as a condition of probation or as a standalone part of the sentence for any misdemeanor or felony.5Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-5-3 – Restitution Restitution covers the victim’s actual financial loss, such as the cost to repair or replace damaged property. Falling behind on payments can trigger a probation violation.
The Civil Lawsuit: Treble Damages
A criminal case isn’t the only exposure. Indiana law lets victims of property crimes under IC 35-43, which includes conversion, file a civil lawsuit and recover up to three times their actual damages, plus attorney fees, court costs, and reasonable travel expenses.6Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 34-24-3-1 – Offenses Against Property Recovery of Damages Even conversion involving modest property can produce a substantial civil judgment.
The civil case runs independently from the criminal prosecution. The property owner only has to prove the claim by a preponderance of the evidence, not beyond a reasonable doubt, so a civil judgment is possible even when the criminal charge didn’t result in a conviction. An acquittal doesn’t block the civil claim.
Common Defenses
Consent
The cleanest defense is showing you had permission. Text messages, emails, written agreements, or witness testimony about verbal permission can all support it. The usual fight is over scope. The owner may have given limited permission while the use went past that limit.
Mistake of Fact
Indiana recognizes mistake of fact as a defense when a reasonable misunderstanding negates the mental state the offense requires.7Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-41-3-7 – Mistake of Fact Someone who grabs a coworker’s identical laptop bag from a shared office isn’t acting knowingly. The belief has to be reasonable, though. A self-serving claim of confusion won’t hold up.
Lack of Intent
The prosecution has to prove you acted knowingly or intentionally. Accidental or inadvertent control over someone else’s property doesn’t meet that bar. When the facts suggest you didn’t realize you had the property, or didn’t know it belonged to someone else, the charge can fall apart.
Background Checks and Expungement
A conviction follows you. Employers and landlords run background checks, and a Class A misdemeanor for a property crime raises concerns. For anyone holding or pursuing a professional license, even a misdemeanor can trigger a licensing board inquiry, and boards have authority to impose conditions, suspend, or revoke a license depending on the circumstances.
Indiana does offer an expungement path. A person convicted of a misdemeanor, including criminal conversion, can petition to seal the conviction records five years after the date of conviction. The court must grant the petition if no charges are currently pending, all fines, fees, court costs, and restitution have been paid, and the person has stayed conviction-free during the waiting period.8Indiana Public Defender Council. Indiana Code 35-38-9 – Sealing and Expunging Conviction Records The prosecutor can agree in writing to a shorter waiting period, but that’s discretionary.
Expungement doesn’t erase the conviction from existence. It seals the records from most background checks, which removes a significant barrier to employment and housing. Because of the five-year clock, how the underlying case is handled from the start matters. Unpaid restitution or a new offense during the waiting period resets everything.