N.Y. Penal Law § 165.00: Misapplication of property

§ 165.00 Misapplication of property.

1. A person is guilty of misapplication of property when, knowingly

possessing personal property of another pursuant to an agreement that

the same will be returned to the owner at a future time,

(a) he loans, leases, pledges, pawns or otherwise encumbers such

property without the consent of the owner thereof in such manner as to

create a risk that the owner will not be able to recover it or will

suffer pecuniary loss; or

(b) he intentionally refuses to return personal property valued in

excess of one hundred dollars to the owner pursuant to the terms of the

rental agreement provided that the owner shall have made a written

demand for the return of such personal property in person or by

certified mail at an address indicated in the rental agreement and he

intentionally refuses to return such personal property for a period of

thirty days after such demand has been received or should reasonably

have been received by him. Such written demand shall state: (i) the date

and time at which the personal property was to have been returned under

the rental agreement; (ii) that the owner does not consent to the

continued withholding or retaining of such personal property and demands

its return; and (iii) that the continued withholding or retaining of the

property may constitute a class A misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up

to one thousand dollars or by a sentence to a term of imprisonment for a

period of up to one year or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(c) as used in paragraph (b) of this subdivision and in subdivision

three of this section, the terms owner, personal property, and rental

agreement shall be defined as in subdivision one of section three

hundred ninety-nine-w of the general business law.

2. In any prosecution under paragraph (a) of subdivision one of this

section, it is a defense that, at the time the prosecution was

commenced, (a) the defendant had recovered possession of the property,

unencumbered as a result of the unlawful disposition, and (b) the owner

had suffered no material economic loss as a result of the unlawful

disposition.

3. In any prosecution under paragraph (b) of subdivision one of this

section, it is a defense that at the time the prosecution was commenced,

(a) the owner had recovered possession of the personal property and

suffered no material economic loss as a result of the unlawful

retention; or (b) the defendant is unable to return such personal

property because it has been accidentally destroyed or stolen; or (c)

the owner failed to comply with the provisions of section three hundred

ninety-nine-w of the general business law.

Misapplication of property is a class A misdemeanor.