Receiving and concealing stolen property is charged under MCL 750.535, and the penalty runs from a 93-day misdemeanor to a 10-year felony depending on what the property was worth. Unlike a larceny charge, the prosecutor does not have to prove you stole anything. They have to prove what you knew.
That is the whole case, almost every time. These charges are brought against people who bought a phone, a tool set, a bike, a catalytic converter, or a car from someone else — and the question is not whether the item was stolen. It is whether you had reason to believe it was.
What the Statute Prohibits
MCL 750.535(1) is broad. A person shall not buy, receive, possess, conceal, or aid in the concealment of stolen, embezzled, or converted money, goods, or property, knowing, or having reason to know or reason to believe, that it is stolen, embezzled, or converted.
Two things to notice. First, mere possession counts — you do not have to have bought or sold anything. Second, the mental state has three alternatives, and the weakest of them, "reason to believe," is an objective standard. The prosecutor does not have to get inside your head. They have to convince a jury that a reasonable person in your position would have suspected it.
The Penalty Tiers
| Value of property | Offense | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Less than $200 | Misdemeanor — MCL 750.535(5) | 93 days, $500 or 3× value |
| $200 – under $1,000 | Misdemeanor — MCL 750.535(4)(a) | 1 year, $2,000 or 3× value |
| $1,000 – under $20,000 | Felony — MCL 750.535(3)(a) | 5 years, $10,000 or 3× value |
| $20,000 or more | Felony — MCL 750.535(2)(a) | 10 years, $15,000 or 3× value |
| Stolen motor vehicle | Felony — MCL 750.535(7) | 5 years, $10,000 or 3× value |
| Stolen motor vehicle, with a prior | Felony — MCL 750.535(8) | 10 years, $15,000 or 3× value |
Prior convictions move you up. Under MCL 750.535(4)(b), property worth under $200 becomes a 1-year misdemeanor with one prior. Under subsection (3)(b), $200 to $1,000 becomes a 5-year felony with one prior. Under subsection (2)(b), $1,000 to $20,000 becomes a 10-year felony with two or more priors. If the prosecutor intends to use priors this way, MCL 750.535(9) requires them to list the convictions on the complaint and information — and that requirement is worth checking, because it is not always met.
Value Is an Element, and It Is Fought Over
Because every tier turns on a dollar figure, value is not a detail — it is the difference between a 93-day misdemeanor and a 10-year felony. Police reports routinely list a victim's replacement estimate or an original retail price rather than the fair market value of a used item at the time of the offense. A four-year-old laptop is not worth what the owner paid for it. Getting the value right has moved cases across the felony line in my practice, and it is one of the first things I look at.
The aggregation rule in MCL 750.535(6) cuts the other way: values from separate incidents can be combined if they were part of a scheme or course of conduct within a 12-month period. Whether a handful of unrelated purchases really amounts to a "scheme" is a fair fight.
The Dealer Presumption
If you deal in or collect merchandise — a pawn shop, a scrap yard, a resale business, or an employee of one — MCL 750.535(10) works against you. Failing to reasonably inquire whether the seller had a legal right to sell, or buying property with an altered or obliterated serial number, creates a presumption that you knew the property was stolen.
The statute says that presumption is rebuttable, and rebutting it is real defense work: purchase records, identification logs, the ordinary practice of the business, and what the item actually looked like when it came across the counter.
Stings: When Nothing Was Ever Stolen
MCL 750.535(12) provides that it is not a defense that the property was not stolen at the time of the violation, so long as it was explicitly represented to you as stolen. That is the provision behind undercover operations where the goods belonged to the police all along.
Note the word "explicitly." The representation has to have actually been made. What was said in a recorded conversation, and whether it amounts to an explicit representation rather than an insinuation, is litigable — and in a sting case, the recordings are usually the entire proof.
How I Defend These Cases
- You did not know, and had no reason to. A fair price, a normal transaction, a seller who seemed legitimate, an item with its serial number intact. The absence of the classic red flags is affirmative evidence.
- Possession is not knowledge. Property in a shared house, a shared vehicle, or a shared garage is not automatically yours. Constructive possession has to be proved.
- The value is wrong. As above — the tier is an element, and inflated valuations are common.
- The property was never stolen and was never represented as stolen. Ownership disputes get reported as thefts more often than people think.
- The underlying theft is unproven. The prosecutor still has to establish that the property was stolen, embezzled, or converted in the first place.
- Search and seizure. These charges often follow a vehicle search, a consent search of a home, or a probation search. If the search was unlawful, the property comes out of the case.
Where These Cases Are Heard
The misdemeanor tiers stay in district court — the 61st in Grand Rapids, the 62A in Wyoming, the 62B in Kentwood, the 63rd for the rest of Kent County, the 58th in Ottawa County, the 57th in Allegan County. The 5-year and 10-year felony tiers are bound over to circuit court after a preliminary examination.
One more thing worth knowing: restitution is ordered in nearly every one of these cases, and it is not discharged by a jail sentence. Resolving the restitution question early, and accurately, is part of the defense rather than an afterthought.
Related reading: theft and property crimes defense, Michigan auto theft laws, retail fraud, defenses against trafficking in stolen property, and when theft becomes a felony in Michigan.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the penalty for receiving stolen property in Michigan?
It is graded by the value of the property under MCL 750.535. Under $200 is a 93-day misdemeanor. $200 to under $1,000 is a 1-year misdemeanor. $1,000 to under $20,000 is a 5-year felony. $20,000 or more is a 10-year felony. Each tier also carries a fine of up to three times the value of the property, and prior convictions push you up a tier.
Do I have to know the property was stolen?
You have to know, have reason to know, or have reason to believe it was stolen — that is the language of MCL 750.535(1). "Reason to believe" is a lower bar than actual knowledge, and it is what prosecutors rely on: the price was too good, the serial number was scratched off, the seller met you in a parking lot. Knowledge is almost always the contested element in these cases.
What if the property turned out not to be stolen?
That is not a defense on its own. Under MCL 750.535(12), it is not a defense that the property was not actually stolen at the time if it was explicitly represented to you as stolen. This is the provision that makes police sting operations work, where the "stolen" goods were in police custody the whole time.
Is receiving a stolen car treated differently?
Yes. MCL 750.535(7) creates a separate offense for a stolen motor vehicle: a 5-year felony regardless of the vehicle’s value, rising to a 10-year felony under subsection (8) if you have a prior conviction under this section. You cannot be punished under both subsection (7) and another part of the statute for the same vehicle.
Can the prosecutor add up several separate incidents?
Yes. MCL 750.535(6) allows the values from separate incidents to be aggregated if they were part of a scheme or course of conduct within any 12-month period. That is how a series of small transactions becomes a single felony, and challenging whether the incidents really were one scheme is a genuine line of defense.
Talk to Me Before You Talk to the Police
I am Shawn Haff, and I defend theft and property crime cases across Kent, Ottawa, Allegan, Barry, Ionia, Muskegon, Newaygo, and Van Buren counties. The call is free, I answer my own phone, and in a property case the earlier I am involved the more room there is to work. Call 616-438-6719 or send me a message.