(1) A person commits theft when he or she knowingly
obtains, retains, or exercises control over anything of value of another without
authorization or by threat or deception; receives, loans money by pawn or pledge
on, or disposes of anything of value or belonging to another that he or she knows or
believes to have been stolen, and:
(a) Intends to deprive the other person permanently of the use or benefit of
the thing of value;
(b) Knowingly uses, conceals, or abandons the thing of value in such manner
as to deprive the other person permanently of its use or benefit;
(c) Uses, conceals, or abandons the thing of value intending that such use,
concealment, or abandonment will deprive the other person permanently of its use
or benefit;
(d) Demands any consideration to which he or she is not legally entitled as a
condition of restoring the thing of value to the other person;
(e) Knowingly retains the thing of value more than seventy-two hours after
the agreed-upon time of return in any lease or hire agreement; or
(f) Intentionally misrepresents or withholds a material fact for determining
eligibility for a public benefit and does so for the purpose of obtaining or retaining
public benefits for which the person is not eligible.
(1.5) For the purposes of this section, a thing of value is that of another if
anyone other than the defendant has a possessory or proprietary interest therein.
(2) Except as provided in subsection (2.3) of this section, theft is:
(a) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2007, p. 1690, � 3, effective July 1, 2007.)
(b) A petty offense if the value of the thing involved is less than three
hundred dollars;
(b.5) Repealed.
(c) A class 2 misdemeanor if the value of the thing involved is three hundred
dollars or more but less than one thousand dollars;
(d) Repealed.
(e) A class 1 misdemeanor if the value of the thing involved is one thousand
dollars or more but less than two thousand dollars;
(f) A class 6 felony if the value of the thing involved is two thousand dollars
or more but less than five thousand dollars;
(g) A class 5 felony if the value of the thing involved is five thousand dollars
or more but less than twenty thousand dollars;
(h) A class 4 felony if the value of the thing involved is twenty thousand
dollars or more but less than one hundred thousand dollars;
(i) A class 3 felony if the value of the thing involved is one hundred thousand
dollars or more but less than one million dollars; and
(j) A class 2 felony if the value of the thing involved is one million dollars or
more.
(2.3) Theft in violation of subsection (1) of this section of a firearm, as defined
in section 18-12-101, is a class 6 felony, regardless of the value of the firearm.
(3) and (3.1) Repealed.
(4) (a) When a person commits theft twice or more within a period of six
months, two or more of the thefts may be aggregated and charged in a single
count, in which event the thefts so aggregated and charged shall constitute a
single offense, the penalty for which shall be based on the aggregate value of the
things involved, pursuant to subsection (2) of this section.
(b) When a person commits theft twice or more against the same person
pursuant to one scheme or course of conduct, the thefts may be aggregated and
charged in a single count, in which event they shall constitute a single offense, the
penalty for which shall be based on the aggregate value of the things involved,
pursuant to subsection (2) of this section.
(5) Theft from the person of another by means other than the use of force,
threat, or intimidation is a class 5 felony without regard to the value of the thing
taken.
(6) In every indictment or information charging a violation of this section, it
shall be sufficient to allege that, on or about a day certain, the defendant
committed the crime of theft by unlawfully taking a thing or things of value of a
person or persons named in the indictment or information. The prosecuting attorney
shall at the request of the defendant provide a bill of particulars.
(7) Repealed.
(8) A municipality shall have concurrent power to prohibit theft, by
ordinance, where the value of the thing involved is less than one thousand dollars.
(9) (a) If a person is convicted of or pleads guilty or nolo contendere to theft
by deception and the underlying factual basis of the case involves the mortgage
lending process, a minimum fine of the amount of pecuniary harm resulting from
the theft shall be mandatory, in addition to any other penalty the court may impose.
(b) A court shall not accept a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to another
offense from a person charged with a violation of this section that involves the
mortgage lending process unless the plea agreement contains an order of
restitution in accordance with part 6 of article 1.3 of this title that compensates the
victim for any costs to the victim caused by the offense.
(c) The district attorneys and the attorney general have concurrent
jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute a violation of this section that involves
making false statements or filing or facilitating the use of a document known to
contain a false statement or material omission relied upon by another person in the
mortgage lending process.
(d) Documents involved in the mortgage lending process include, but are not
limited to, uniform residential loan applications or other loan applications; appraisal
reports; HUD-1 settlement statements; supporting personal documentation for loan
applications such as W-2 forms, verifications of income and employment, bank
statements, tax returns, and payroll stubs; and any required disclosures.
(e) For the purposes of this subsection (9):
(I) Mortgage lending process means the process through which a person
seeks or obtains a residential mortgage loan, including, without limitation,
solicitation, application, or origination; negotiation of terms; third-party provider
services; underwriting; signing and closing; funding of the loan; and perfecting and
releasing the mortgage.
(II) Residential mortgage loan means a loan or agreement to extend credit,
made to a person and secured by a mortgage or lien on residential real property,
including, but not limited to, the refinancing or renewal of a loan secured by
residential real property.
(III) Residential real property means real property used as a residence and
containing no more than four families housed separately.
(10) Upon a conviction for theft as described in subsection (1)(e) of this
section, the court shall consider as part of any restitution ordered the loss of
revenue proximately resulting from the failure of the defendant to timely return the
property involved.
(11) (a) If the item of value involved is a public benefit, then for purposes of
determining the offense level for subsection (2) of this section, the value is the
difference between the value of the public benefit received and the value of the
public benefit for which the recipient was eligible.
(b) As used in this subsection (11), public benefits means services or aid, or
both, including food, cash, and medical assistance, provided through an
appropriation of federal, state, or local government money to individuals or
households that, because of their economic circumstances or social condition, are
in need of and may benefit from such services or aid.
(12) A person's conduct that is limited to the elements of subsection (1)(f) of
this section is not subject to prosecution pursuant to any other provision of this
section.
Source: L. 71: R&RE, p. 428, � 1. C.R.S. 1963: � 40-4-401. L. 75: IP(1), (2), and
(3) amended and (3.1) added, pp. 618, 619, �� 9, 10, effective July 1. L. 77: (4)
amended, p. 972, � 1, effective May 27; (2) R&RE, (3) and (3.1) repealed, and (4)
amended, pp. 973, 976, �� 1, 2, 9, effective July 1. L. 81: (7) added, p. 987, � 1,
effective July 1. L. 83: (8) added, p. 665, � 7, effective July 1. L. 84: (7)(a) and (7)(b)
amended, p. 541, � 1, effective April 12; (2)(b), (2)(c), (4), (7)(a), and (8) amended, p.
536, ��5, 6, effective July 1, 1985. L. 85: (7)(a) amended, p. 1360, � 13, effective June
28. L. 87: (2)(b), (2)(c), and (4) amended, p. 352, � 3, effective March 16; (1.5) added
and (7)(a) amended, pp. 615, 606, ��5, 13, effective July 1. L. 92: (2), (4), and (7)(a)
amended, p. 433, � 1, effective April 10; (8) amended, p. 439, � 1, effective June 1. L.
93: (7) repealed, p. 1742, � 42, effective July 1. L. 97: (2)(b) and (2)(c) amended, p.
1548, � 23, effective July 1. L. 98: (4) and (8) amended, p. 1437, � 10, effective July 1;
(4) amended, p. 793, � 1, effective July 1. L. 2006: (9) added, p. 1327, � 2, effective
July 1. L. 2007: (2), (4), and (8) amended, p. 1690, � 3, effective July 1. L. 2009: (4)
amended, (HB 09-1334), ch. 244, p. 1099, � 2, effective May 11. L. 2013: (1), (2)(b),
(2)(c), (2)(d), and (4) amended, (2)(b.5) repealed, and (2)(e), (2)(f), (2)(g), (2)(h), (2)(i),
and (2)(j) added, (HB 13-1160), ch. 373, p. 2195, � 1, effective June 5. L. 2021: (10)
added, (SB 21-030), ch. 189, p. 1006, � 1, effective May 27; IP(1), (2)(b), (2)(c), and
(2)(e) amended, (SB 21-271), ch. 462, p. 3176, � 205, effective March 1, 2022; (2)(d)(II)
added by revision, (SB 21-271), ch. 462, pp. 3176, 3331, �� 205, 803. L. 2022: IP(1)
amended, (HB 22-1229), ch. 68, p. 345, � 23, effective March 1; (11) added, (HB 22-1257), ch. 69, p. 357, � 10, effective April 7; (1)(d) and (1)(e) amended and (1)(f) and
(12) added, (HB 22-1224), ch. 112, p. 508, � 1, effective July 1. L. 2025: IP(2) amended
and (2.3) added, (HB 25-1062), ch. 360, p. 1960, � 1, effective June 2.