Under larceny, when can a finder of a lost item be criminally liable?

• A. The owner is known and the finder keeps it
• B. The true owner is known or ascertainable and the finder decides to keep it
• C. The property is abandoned
• D. Someone stole the property from the finder

Answer: (B)

The main idea is that larceny requires the intent to permanently deprive the rightful owner of property. A finder of lost property normally should try to locate the owner. Liability for larceny arises when the true owner is known or is ascertainable and the finder chooses to keep the item. In that situation, keeping the property shows a deliberate intent to deprive the owner of it, which satisfies the mens rea for larceny. If the owner isn’t known or isn’t ascertainable, the finder’s act of keeping the item doesn’t prove that they intended to deprive a specific owner, so larceny isn’t established in the same way.