CHAPTER 545
Theft and Fraud
545.01   Definitions.
545.02   Determining property value in theft offense.
545.03   Property exceptions as felony offense.
545.04   Detention of shoplifters; rights of museums and libraries.
545.05   Misdemeanor theft.
545.06   Unauthorized use of a vehicle; vehicle trespass.
545.07   Insurance fraud.
545.08   Unauthorized use of property.
545.09   Passing bad checks.
545.10   Misuse of credit cards.
545.11   Making or using slugs.
545.12   Tampering with coin machines.
545.13   Criminal simulation.
545.14   Tampering with records.
545.15   Securing writings by deception.
545.16   Personating an officer.
545.17   Defrauding creditors.
545.18   Receiving stolen property.
545.19   Possession of criminal tools.
545.20   Forgery of identification cards.
545.21   Library; fraudulent privileges; detention of property; notice.
545.22   Travel sales regulated.
545.23   Key to fire or police alarm.
545.24   Unauthorized taking of pictures prohibited.
545.25   Fortune telling, palmistry, etc.; prohibited.
545.26   Sale of multiple dwelling units.
545.27   Identity fraud.
545.99   Penalty.
 
CROSS REFERENCES
See sectional histories for similar State law
Property defined - see GEN. OFF. 501.01(j)
Cheating - see GEN. OFF. 517.05
Falsification - see GEN. OFF. 525.02
Impersonating a public servant - see GEN. OFF. 525.03
 
545.01 DEFINITIONS.
   As used in this chapter, unless the context requires that a term be given a different meaning:
   (a)   "Deception" means knowingly deceiving another or causing another to be deceived, by any false or misleading representation, by withholding information, by preventing another from acquiring information, or by any other conduct, act or omission that creates, confirms or perpetuates a false impression in another, including a false impression as to law, value, state of mind, or other objective or subjective fact.
   (b)   "Defraud" means to knowingly obtain, by deception, some benefit for oneself or another, or to knowingly cause, by deception, some detriment to another.
   (c)   "Deprive" means to do any of the following:
      (1)   Withhold property of another permanently, or for such period that appropriates a substantial portion of its value or use, or with purpose to restore it only upon payment of a reward or other consideration;
      (2)   Dispose of property so as to make it unlikely that the owner will recover it;
      (3)   Accept, use or appropriate money, property or services, with purpose not to give proper consideration in return for the money, property or services, and without reasonable justification or excuse for not giving proper consideration.
   (d)   "Owner" means, unless the context requires a different meaning, any person, other than the actor, who is the owner of, who has possession or control of, or who has any license or interest in property or services, even though the ownership, possession, control, license or interest is unlawful.
   (e)   "Services" include labor, personal services, professional services, rental services, public utility services, including wireless service as defined in Ohio R.C. 5507.01(F)(1), common carrier services, and food, drink, transportation, entertainment and cable television services.
   (f)   "Writing" means any computer software, document, letter, memorandum, note, paper, plate, data, film or other thing having in or upon it any written, typewritten or printed matter, and any token, stamp, seal, credit card, badge, trademark, label or other symbol of value, right, privilege, license or identification.
   (g)   "Forge" means to fabricate or create, in whole or in part and by any means any spurious writing, or to make, execute, alter, complete, reproduce or otherwise purport to authenticate any writing, when the writing in fact is not authenticated by that conduct.
   (h)   "Utter" means to issue, publish, transfer, use, put or send into circulation, deliver or display.
   (i)   "Coin machine" means any mechanical or electronic device designed to do both of the following:
      (1)   Receive a coin, bill, or token made for that purpose;
      (2)   In return for the insertion or deposit of a coin, bill or token, automatically dispense property, provide a service or grant a license.
   (j)   "Slug" means an object that, by virtue of its size, shape, composition or other quality, is capable of being inserted or deposited in a coin machine as an improper substitute for a genuine coin, bill or token made for that purpose.
   (k)   "Theft offense" means any of the following:
      (1)   A violation of Ohio R.C. 2911.01, 2911.02, 2911.11, 2911.12, 2911.13, 2911.31, 2911.32, 2913.02, 2913.03, 2913.04, 2913.041, 2913.11, 2913.21, 2913.31, 2913.32, 2913.33, 2913.34, 2913.40, 2913.42 to 2913.45, 2913.47, 2913.48, 2913.51, 2915.05, 2915.06, or 2921.41.
      (2)   A violation of an existing or former municipal ordinance or law of this or any other state or the United States substantially equivalent to any section listed in subsection (k)(1) hereof or a violation of Ohio R.C. 2913.41, 2913.81 or 2915.06 as it existed prior to July 1, 1996;
      (3)   An offense under an existing or former municipal ordinance or law of this or any other state or the United States involving robbery, burglary, breaking and entering, theft, embezzlement, wrongful conversion, forgery, counterfeiting, deceit or fraud;
      (4)   A conspiracy or attempt to commit, or complicity in committing any offense under subsection (k)(1), (2) or (3) hereof.
   (l)   "Computer services" includes, but is not limited to, the use of a computer system, computer network, computer program, data that is prepared for computer use or data that is contained within a computer system or computer network.
   (m)   "Computer" means an electronic device that performs logical, arithmetic and memory functions by the manipulation of electronic or magnetic impulses. "Computer" includes, but is not limited to, all input, output, processing, storage, computer program or communication facilities that are connected or related, in a computer system or network to an electronic device of that nature.
   (n)   "Computer system" means a computer and related devices, whether connected or unconnected, including, but not limited to, data input, output and storage devices, data communications links, and computer programs and data that make the system capable of performing specified special purpose data processing tasks.
   (o)   "Computer network" means a set of related and remotely connected computers and communication facilities that includes more than one computer system that has the capability to transmit among the connected computers and communication facilities through the use of computer facilities.
   (p)   "Computer program" means an ordered set of data representing coded instructions or statements that when executed by a computer cause the computer to process data.
   (q)   "Computer software" means computer programs, procedures and other documentation associated with the operation of a computer system.
   (r)   "Data" means a representation of information, knowledge, facts, concepts or instructions that are being or have been prepared in a formalized manner and that are intended for use in a computer, computer system or computer network. For purposes of Section 545.07, "data" has the additional meaning set forth in subsection (a) of that section.
   (s)   "Cable television service" means any services provided by or through the facilities of any cable television system or other similar closed circuit coaxial cable communications system, or any microwave or similar transmission service used in connection with any cable television system or other similar closed circuit coaxial cable communications system.
   (t)   "Gain access" means to approach, instruct, communicate with, store data in, retrieve data from or otherwise make use of any resources of a computer, computer system or computer network.
   (u)   "Credit card" includes, but is not limited to, a card, code, device or other means of access to a customer's account for the purpose of obtaining money, property, labor or services on credit, or for initiating an electronic fund transfer at a point-of-sale terminal, an automated teller machine or a cash dispensing machine.
   (v)   "Electronic fund transfer" has the same meaning as in 92 Stat. 3728, 15 U.S.C.A. 1693a, as amended.
      (ORC 2913.01)
   (w)   “Rented property” means personal property in which the right of possession and use of the property is for a short and possibly indeterminate term in return for consideration; the rentee generally controls the duration of possession of the property, within any applicable minimum or maximum term; and the amount of consideration generally is determined by the duration of possession of the property.
   (x)   “Telecommunication” means the origination, emission, dissemination, transmission, or reception of data, images, signals, sounds, or other intelligence or equivalence of intelligence or any nature over any communications system by any method, including, but not limited to, a fiber optic, electronic, magnetic, optical, digital, or analog method.
   (y)   “Telecommunications device” means any instrument, equipment, machine, or other device that facilitates telecommunication, including, but not limited to, a computer, computer network, computer chip, computer circuit, scanner, telephone, cellular telephone, pager, personal communications device, transponder, receiver, radio, modem, or device that enables the use of a modem.
   (z)   “Telecommunications service” means the providing, allowing, facilitating, or generating of any form of telecommunication through the use of a telecommunications device over a telecommunications system.
   (aa)   “Counterfeit telecommunications device” means a telecommunications device that, alone or with another telecommunications device, has been altered, constructed, manufactured, or programmed to acquire, intercept, receive, or otherwise facilitate the use of a telecommunications service or information service without the authority or consent of the provider of the telecommunications service or information service. “Counterfeit telecommunications device” includes, but is not limited to, a clone telephone, clone microchip, tumbler telephone, or tumbler microchip; a wireless scanning device capable of acquiring, intercepting, receiving, or otherwise facilitating the use of telecommunications service or information service without immediate detection; or a device, equipment, hardware, or software designed for, or capable of, altering or changing the electronic serial number in a wireless telephone.
   (bb)   (1)   “Information service” means, subject to subsection (bb)(2) hereof, the offering of a capability for generating, acquiring, storing, transforming, processing, retrieving, utilizing, or making available information via telecommunications, including, but not limited to, electronic publishing.
      (2)   “Information service” does not include any use of a capability of a type described in subsection (bb)(1) hereof for the management, control, or operation of a telecommunications system or the management of a telecommunications service.
   (cc)   “Elderly person” means a person who is sixty-five years of age or older.
   (dd)   “Disabled adult” means a person who is eighteen years of age or older and has some impairment of body or mind that makes the person unfit to work at any substantially remunerative employment that the person otherwise would be able to perform and that will, with reasonable probability, continue for a period of at least twelve months without any present indication of recovery from the impairment, or who is eighteen years of age or older and has been certified as permanently and totally disabled by an agency of this State or the United States that has the function of so classifying persons.
   (ee)   “Firearm” and “dangerous ordnance” have the same meanings as in Ohio R.C. 2923.11.
   (ff)   “Motor vehicle” has the same meaning as in Ohio R.C. 4501.01.
   (gg)   “Dangerous drug” has the same meaning as in Ohio R.C. 4729.01.
   (hh)   “Drug abuse offense” has the same meaning as in Ohio R.C. 2925.01.
      (ORC 2913.01)
   (ii)   “Police dog or horse” has the same meaning as in Ohio R.C. 2921.321.
   (jj)   “Anhydrous ammonia” is a compound formed by the combination of two gaseous elements, nitrogen and hydrogen, in the manner described in this subsection. Anhydrous ammonia is one part nitrogen to three parts hydrogen (NH3). Anhydrous ammonia by weight is fourteen parts nitrogen to three parts hydrogen, which is approximately eighty-two per cent nitrogen to eighteen per cent hydrogen.
   (kk)   “Assistance dog” has the same meaning as in Ohio R.C. 955.011.
   (ll)   “Active duty service member” means any member of the armed forces of the United States performing active duty under Title 10 of the United States Code.
      (ORC 2913.01)
545.02 DETERMINING PROPERTY VALUE IN THEFT OFFENSE.
   (a)   If more than one item of property or service is involved in a theft offense, the value of the property or services involved for the purpose of determining the value is the aggregate value of all property or services involved in the offense.
 
   (b)   (1)   When a series of offenses under Section 545.05, or a series of violations of, attempts to commit a violation of, conspiracies to violate, or complicity in violations of Section 545.05, 545.06, or 545.08, 545.10(b)(1) or (2), or Section 545.15 or 545.20 involving a victim who is an elderly person or disabled adult, is committed by the offender in the offender’s same employment, capacity, or relationship to another, all of those offenses shall be tried as a single offense. When a series of offenses under Section 545.05, or a series of violations of, attempts to commit a violation of, conspiracies to violate, or complicity in violations of Sections 545.05 or 545.15 involving a victim who is an active duty service member or spouse of an active duty service member is committed by the offender in the offender’s same employment, capacity or relationship to another, all of those offenses shall be tried as a single offense. The value of the property or services involved in the series of offenses for the purpose of determining the value is the aggregate value of all property and services involved in all offenses in the series.
      (2)   If an offender commits a series of offenses under Section 545.05 that involves a common course of conduct to defraud multiple victims, all of the offenses may be tried as a single offense. If an offender is being tried for the commission of a series of violations of, attempts to commit a violation of, conspiracies to violate, or complicity in violations of Section 545.05, 545.06 or 545.08, Section 545.10(b)(1) or (2), or Section 545.15 or 545.20, whether committed against one victim or more than one victim, involving a victim who is an elderly person or disabled adult, pursuant to a scheme or course of conduct, all of those offenses may be tried as a single offense. If the offender is being tried for the commission of a series of violations of, attempts to commit a violation of, conspiracies to violate, or complicity in violations of Section 545.05 or 545.15, whether committed against one victim or more than one victim, involving a victim who is an active duty service member or spouse of an active duty service member pursuant to a scheme or course of conduct, all of those offenses may be tried as a single offense. If the offenses are tried as a single offense, the value of the property or services involved for the purpose of determining the value is the aggregate value of all property and services involved in all of the offenses in the course of conduct.
      (3)   In prosecuting a single offense under subsection (b)(1) or (2), it is not necessary to separately allege and prove each offense in the series. Rather, it is sufficient to allege and prove that the offender, within a given span of time, committed one or more theft offenses in the offender’s same employment, capacity, or relationship to another as described in subsection (b)(1) of this section or that involve a common course of conduct to defraud multiple victims or a scheme or course of conduct as described in subsection (b)(2) of this section. While it is not necessary to separately allege and prove each offense in the series in order to prosecute a single offense under subsection (b)(1) or (2) hereof, it remains necessary in prosecuting them as a single offense to prove the aggregate value of the property or services in order to meet the requisite statutory offense level sought by the prosecution.
 
   (c)   The following criteria shall be used in determining the value of property or services involved in a theft offense:
      (1)   The value of an heirloom, memento, collector's item, antique, museum piece, manuscript, document, record or other thing that has intrinsic worth to its owner and that is either irreplaceable or is replaceable only on the expenditure of substantial time, effort or money, is the amount that would compensate the owner for its loss.
      (2)   The value of personal effects and household goods, and of materials, supplies, equipment and fixtures used in the profession, business, trade, occupation or avocation of its owner, which property is not covered under subsection (c)(1) hereof, and which retains substantial utility for its purpose regardless of its age or condition, is the cost of replacing the property with new property of like kind and quality.
      (3)   The value of any real or personal property that is not covered under subsections (c)(1) or (2) hereof, and the value of services, is the fair market value of the property or services. As used in this section, "fair market value" is the money consideration that a buyer would give and a seller would accept for property or services, assuming that the buyer is willing to buy and the seller is willing to sell, that both are fully informed as to all facts material to the transaction, and that neither is under any compulsion to act.
 
   (d)   Without limitation on the evidence that may be used to establish the value of property or services involved in a theft offense:
      (1)   When the property involved is personal property held for sale at wholesale or retail, the price at which the property was held for sale is prima-facie evidence of its value.
      (2)   When the property involved is a security or commodity traded on an exchange, the closing price or, if there is no closing price, the asked price, given in the latest market quotation prior to the offense, is prima-facie evidence of the value of the security or commodity.
      (3)   When the property involved is livestock, poultry or raw agricultural products for which a local market price is available, the latest local market price prior to the offense is prima-facie evidence of the value of the livestock, poultry or products.
      (4)   When the property involved is a negotiable instrument, the face value is prima-facie evidence of the value of the instrument.
      (5)   When the property involved is a warehouse receipt, bill of lading, pawn ticket, claim check or other instrument entitling the holder or bearer to receive property, the face value or, if there is no face value, the value of the property covered by the instrument less any payment necessary to receive the property, is prima-facie evidence of the value of the instrument.
      (6)   When the property involved is a ticket of admission, ticket for transportation, coupon, token or other instrument entitling the holder or bearer to receive property or services, the face value or, if there is no face value, the value of the property or services that may be received by the instrument, is prima-facie evidence of the value of the instrument.
      (7)   When the services involved are gas, electricity, water, telephone, transportation, shipping or other services for which the rate is established by law, the duly established rate is prima-facie evidence of the value of the services.
      (8)   When the services involved are services for which the rate is not established by law, and the offender has been notified prior to the offense of the rate for the services, either in writing or orally, or by posting in a manner reasonably calculated to come to the attention of potential offenders, the rate contained in the notice is prima-facie evidence of the value of the services.
(ORC 2913.61)
545.03 PROPERTY EXCEPTIONS AS FELONY OFFENSE.
   Regardless of the value of the property involved, and regardless of whether the offender has previously been convicted of a theft offense, the provisions of Section 545.05 or 545.18 do not apply if the property involved is any of the following:
   (a)   A credit card;
   (b)   A printed form for a check or other negotiable instrument, that on its face identifies the drawer or maker for whose use it is designed or identifies the account on which it is to be drawn, and that has not been executed by the drawer or maker or on which the amount is blank;
   (c)   A motor vehicle identification license plate as prescribed by Ohio R.C. 4503.22, a temporary motor vehicle license registration as prescribed by Ohio R.C. 4503.182, or any comparable temporary motor vehicle license registration as prescribed by the applicable law of another state or the United States;
   (d)   A blank form for a certificate of title or a manufacturer's or importer's certificate to a motor vehicle, as prescribed by Ohio R.C. 4505.07;
   (e)   A blank form for any license listed in Ohio R.C. 4507.01(A).
      (ORC 2913.71)
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