Government Property Theft (18 U.S.C. § 641)

What a federal government property theft charge means

A charge under 18 U.S.C. § 641 says you stole from the United States itself. The property can be almost anything the federal government owns or controls: cash, equipment, tools, fuel, mail, computers, scrap, seized funds, benefit payments sent by mistake, or even records and vouchers. Typical cases involve a federal employee or contractor who takes supplies or diverts payments, a service member who takes military property, a person who keeps Treasury checks or benefit deposits they knew they were not entitled to, or someone caught holding federal property that someone else stole.

This page covers the criminal charge only. It sits inside our broader federal white collar defense practice. Related conduct is sometimes charged as embezzlement when the taking grows out of a position of trust, or as federal program theft when the property belongs to a state or local program funded by Washington. We explain those boundaries below, because which statute the government picks changes what it must prove and how much time is at stake.

The statute has two paragraphs, and each one is a separate way to commit the offense. The first paragraph says:

"Whoever embezzles, steals, purloins, or knowingly converts to his use or the use of another, or without authority, sells, conveys or disposes of any record, voucher, money, or thing of value of the United States or of any department or agency thereof, or any property made or being made under contract for the United States or any department or agency thereof; or"

The second paragraph covers what happens afterward:

"Whoever receives, conceals, or retains the same with intent to convert it to his use or gain, knowing it to have been embezzled, stolen, purloined or converted"

Read those two paragraphs as covering the whole life cycle of stolen federal property. The first punishes the taking. The second punishes holding or hiding it. A person who never touched the original theft can still face the second paragraph for knowingly keeping the property.

The things the government must prove under § 641

What prosecutors must establish depends on which paragraph they charge. The Ninth Circuit's model jury instructions, which trial judges in that circuit use to explain the law to juries, frame the first paragraph as three elements the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt: first, that the defendant knowingly stole, embezzled, or converted money or property of value with the intention of depriving the owner of the use or benefit of the money or property; second, that the money or property belonged to the United States; and third, that its value was more than $1,000. The instruction states the intent point as acting with the intention of depriving the owner of the use or benefit of the money or property.

For the second paragraph, the Ninth Circuit's model jury instructions list five elements: that the defendant knowingly received, concealed, or retained money or property of value; that it belonged to the United States; that the defendant knew it had been embezzled, stolen, or converted; that the defendant intended to convert it to the defendant's own use or gain; and that its value was more than $1,000.

Three points in those instructions deserve attention because they surprise most people facing this charge.

First, knowledge that the property belonged to the United States is not an element. The Ninth Circuit's model instructions state that rule plainly. The government must prove the property did belong to the United States, but it does not have to prove you knew that particular fact. Your defense therefore focuses on intent, ownership in fact, and value, not on whether you recognized the federal connection.

Second, belonging to the United States turns on control, not just title paperwork. The Ninth Circuit's model instructions explain that the government must have title to, possession of, or control over the funds involved, and that property still counts as federal even when it sits in someone else's hands or is mixed with someone else's money, as long as the government supervises and controls the funds and their ultimate use. Grant money, program funds, and contract payments are where this fight usually happens: the defense argues the money had passed beyond federal control, while the government argues supervision continued.

Third, the misdemeanor version drops the value element. The Ninth Circuit's model instructions note that where the charge is a misdemeanor, the element requiring value above $1,000 should be omitted. That reflects the statute's structure, which we turn to next.

These instructions belong to the Ninth Circuit. They are not a nationwide rule. Other circuits phrase the elements in their own words, and how a judge instructs the jury depends on where the case is charged.

The $1,000 line between felony and misdemeanor under § 641

The punishment paragraph sets a single dollar line that decides whether the case is a felony or a misdemeanor:

"Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; but if the value of such property in the aggregate, combining amounts from all the counts for which the defendant is convicted in a single case, does not exceed the sum of $1,000, he shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both"

Three details in that sentence matter enormously in practice.

The line is $1,000, not zero. Any taking of federal property can be charged, but property worth $1,000 or less is a misdemeanor with a one year ceiling. Only value above $1,000 opens the ten year felony ceiling.

Amounts combine across counts. The statute aggregates the value from all counts of conviction in a single case. Prosecutors can therefore add a series of small takings together to cross the felony line, which is why cases built on repeated supply room thefts, recurring diverted payments, or a pattern of kept overpayments look different from single incident cases. The defense examines each count: if some counts fail on intent or proof, the aggregate can fall back below the line.

Value means whichever measure is greatest. The statute defines value as face, par, or market value, or cost price, wholesale or retail, whichever is greater. The government gets to pick the highest of those measures. The defense answers with appraisals, depreciation, condition, and actual resale figures. On items like used equipment, surplus, or scrap, the gap between the government's number and the real number can decide felony versus misdemeanor.

Note what the punishment paragraph does not contain: no mandatory minimum. The judge may impose anything from probation up to the ceiling, guided by the sentencing guideline and the facts.

Penalties under § 641: what the law allows at most

For a felony conviction under § 641, where the property value exceeds $1,000, the statute allows up to 10 years in federal prison. Because a ten year maximum falls in the ten to twenty-five year band, the offense classifies as a Class C felony. For a misdemeanor conviction, where the value is $1,000 or less, the statute allows up to one year, which classifies as a Class A misdemeanor.

Fines follow the general federal fine law. An individual faces up to $250,000 per felony count, and an organization faces up to $500,000, with an alternative ceiling of twice the gain or twice the loss where that figure is higher. Supervised release after prison runs up to three years on the felony, because Class C felonies carry a three year supervised release ceiling, and up to one year on the misdemeanor.

There is also a time limit on bringing the charge. For non-capital federal offenses the default rule is that no person shall be prosecuted, tried, or punished for any offense, not capital, unless the indictment is found or the information is instituted within five years next after such offense shall have been committed. Each new taking or act of retention can carry its own deadline, so conduct stretching over years needs a count by count timeline.

Read every number above as a ceiling, not a forecast. Judges sentence individuals, not averages. The dollar amount, your role, your history, and how the guideline calculates your range all move the result. The facts of a case change everything.

How the sentence is calculated under §2B1.1

The 2025 Guidelines Manual points nearly every § 641 conviction to one guideline: §2B1.1, which covers theft, embezzlement, receipt of stolen property, fraud, and deceit. The Manual's Statutory Index lists 18 U.S.C. § 641 next to §2B1.1, with a second reference to §2B1.5 that applies only to cultural heritage and paleontological resources. An ordinary case involving money, supplies, equipment, or records is sentenced under §2B1.1.

The starting point is low. Under §2B1.1(a), the base offense level is 7 only when the offense of conviction carries a statutory maximum of 20 years or more. A § 641 conviction carries 10. So the base offense level is 6. That starting point is specific to statutes with lower maximums and is one of the details that makes this page different from fraud pages built around 20-year statutes.

Loss drives the range. The guideline states the core rule plainly: Loss is the greater of actual loss or intended loss. Intended loss counts even if the scheme could never have succeeded. The 2025 loss table adds 2 levels once loss passes $6,500 and rises step by step to 30 added levels above $550,000,000. For sentencings on or after November 1, 2026, Amendment 2 of the Sentencing Commission's 2026 amendments moves those figures to $9,000 and $750,000,000, unless Congress acts. In a theft case the loss number usually equals the value taken, which is why the valuation fight described above pulls double duty: it decides the felony line and it drives the guideline range.

Enhancements can add levels where the facts fit. Depending on what happened, the guideline can add levels where the offense involved 10 or more victims or caused substantial financial hardship, where it involved a theft from the person of another, where the defendant was in the business of receiving and selling stolen property (a natural companion to second paragraph receiving cases), where it involved sophisticated means, or where it involved misrepresentation about acting for a government agency or during a bankruptcy case. None of these applies automatically. Each has factual predicates the government must establish, and each is worth contesting. Where the taking grew out of a position of trust, such as a federal employee handling the very property taken, prosecutors may also seek the abuse of trust adjustment from the guidelines chapter on role. You can explore how these pieces interact with our federal sentencing overview and the sentencing calculator, which models the §2B1.1 guideline.

The closest neighbour charges

Property theft cases are often charged alongside, or confused with, nearby offenses. The differences decide what the government must prove and how much time is at stake.

Section 661: theft inside a federal enclave. This punishes anyone who, within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, takes and carries away, with intent to steal or purloin, any personal property of another. The key difference is what makes the case federal. Under § 641, the federal link is who owns the property: it must belong to the United States, and the theft can happen anywhere. Under § 661, the federal link is where it happened: inside a military base, federal building, national park, or other place under exclusive or concurrent federal jurisdiction, and the property need only belong to another person, not the government. The ceiling differs too. Section 661 provides that if the property taken is of a value exceeding $1,000, or is taken from the person of another, the punishment is a fine or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both, half the § 641 felony ceiling. A theft from a coworker's locker on a base and a theft of base supplies from the same locker room can look identical to a witness but charge under different statutes with different maximums.

Section 666: theft from federally funded programs. This punishes agents of state, local, or tribal governments and organizations who steal or convert property worth $5,000 or more from entities receiving more than $10,000 in federal assistance in a one year period. Where § 641 protects property of the United States itself, § 666 protects property of programs Washington funds. Two practical differences follow. First, § 666 has entry thresholds § 641 lacks: the property must reach $5,000 and the federal assistance must exceed $10,000, so smaller cases that fit § 641 cannot fit § 666. Second, the bribery half of § 666 is sentenced under a different guideline (§2C1.1) than the theft half (§2B1.1), while § 641 theft cases stay under §2B1.1. Our federal program theft page covers that charge in full.

Embezzlement as a theory versus a charge. Embezzle appears inside § 641 itself: a person entrusted with federal property who diverts it violates § 641 without any separate embezzlement statute. Standalone federal embezzlement charges tend to appear where a special statute covers the defendant's position. The practical point is the same one our embezzlement page makes: entrustment plus conversion is the heart of the case, and the records showing what you were allowed to do with the property usually matter more than witness memories.

Section 642 and tools of the trade. Nearby sections punish narrower conduct, such as misuse of tools and materials used for obligations of the United States. Where prosecutors charge § 641 together with one of these, counsel examines whether the counts punish the same act twice and whether the guideline groups them fairly.

Defenses that arise under this statute

Every case turns on its records, but the defenses below are the ones this statute's wording actually invites.

No intent to deprive. The first paragraph requires a knowing taking with intent to deprive the owner of use or benefit. Borrowing with a real plan to return, taking by genuine mistake (the wrong pallet, the mislabeled box, the equipment signed out under a sloppy system), and good faith belief the property was yours or abandoned all attack this element. The paper trail cuts both ways: prosecutors use concealment, false entries, and resale to argue intent, while the defense uses return, payment, open use, and contemporaneous records to argue its absence.

Not the property of the United States. The property must in fact belong to the government under the title, possession, or control test. Funds that had passed fully to a contractor, grantee, or employee with no remaining federal supervision, property the government had discarded, and items where title had genuinely transferred sit outside the statute's core. This defense lives in contracts, grant terms, payment records, and chain of custody documents, and it is often the strongest card where the money flowed through several hands.

Value at or below $1,000. Even where liability is clear, the valuation fight can reduce a felony to a misdemeanor. Independent appraisal against each measure the statute lists, attack on aggregation (some counts may fail on their own proof, which pulls the total down), and separation of the charged property from uncharged conduct all belong here. Because loss under §2B1.1 usually tracks the same number, this work moves the guideline range at the same time.

No knowledge under the second paragraph. Receiving cases require proof you knew the property was stolen or converted from the government and that you intended to convert it to your own use or gain. Buying at a fair price in the open, receiving without reason to suspect the source, and holding property briefly before turning it over all attack knowledge and intent. The government typically answers with price far below market, altered markings, secretive handoffs, and messages showing awareness. Each side's story must fit the messages and money records.

Claim of right and ownership disputes. Where you genuinely believed the checks, deposits, or items were yours, for example duplicate benefit payments you thought were correct, back pay you thought was owed, or property you believed the government gave you, the dispute is about knowledge and intent rather than arithmetic. Repayment history, inquiries you made, and advice you received all matter. This defense is fact intensive and never automatic, but overpayment and entitlement cases turn on it regularly.

Multiplicity and overlap. When one course of conduct produces § 641 counts plus § 661, § 666, false claims, or false statement counts, counsel examines whether the charges punish the same act twice and whether the guideline groups them fairly. These arguments are technical and specific to the circuit, but they can reduce both exposure and the final range.

What to do if you are under investigation

People usually learn about a property theft case in one of four ways: agents appear, a subpoena or target letter arrives, an employer suspends access and starts an internal review, or an audit flags missing inventory or funds. Whatever the first sign, the same priorities apply.

First, get counsel before you explain yourself. Investigators are allowed to use everything you say, including exculpatory explanations that lock in facts about your knowledge, access, and role. Second, preserve every record. Deleting, editing, or backdating inventory logs, emails, messages, or time records after learning of an investigation creates new criminal exposure far worse than the underlying property dispute. Third, keep the circle small. Do not compare notes with coworkers, text about the case, or post about it. Fourth, do not try to fix old takings on your own. Quiet repayments and returned items can be the right move or a damaging one, and the choice should be made with counsel once the full picture is known.

Early work by a lawyer often includes finding out whether you are a witness, subject, or target, opening a channel with the prosecutor, reviewing the contracts and payment records that will define ownership and value, and preparing for charging, plea, or trial decisions while options are still open.

Frequently asked questions