Larceny is a legal term to describe the act of wrongfully withholding or depriving property of another human being. Grand Larceny can come in many forms, including but not limited to shoplifting, extortion, embezzlement, and any other scheme used to take something that is not rightfully yours. What determines the criminal charge is the value of the property that was stolen. If it is impossible to determine the value of the object that was stolen, then the value will be the amount it costs to replace the item/s.

Charges for theft can range from Petit Larceny misdemeanor charges to Grand Larceny felony charges. Listed below are some of the different types of larceny charges in NY and their penalties:

• Grand Larceny in the fourth degree: The value of the theft is above $1,000 and less than $3,000. This crime is considered a class E felony and is punishable with up to four years in prison, although there is no mandatory prison time unless you are a repeat felon, in which case the minimum prison time you will receive is one and a half to three years. You can also expect community service hours, expensive fines, and probation for up to five years.
• Grand Larceny in the third degree: The value of the theft is more than $3,000 but less than $50,000. This is a class D felony that carries a prison sentence between two to seven years as well as community service, fines, and probation. If you already have a felony on your record, you’re looking at a mandatory two to four years in jail.
• Grand Larceny in the second degree: The value of the theft is more than $50,000 but less than $1,000,000. This is a class C felony that carries penalties between five and fifteen years in jail, as well as fines and probation. If you are a predicate (a person who’s been convicted of a felony over the past 10 years), then there is a mandatory minimum of three to six years.
• Grand Larceny in the first degree: The value of the theft is greater than $1,000,000. This is the most serious theft charge in New York. It carries a mandatory prison sentence from one to three years in prison, with the possibility of an eight to twenty-five year sentence. If you are a predicate, you can face mandatory minimum sentences between four and a half and nine years.

As you see, New York does not take theft and larceny crimes lightly. If you or a loved one is being accused of any type of larceny crime in NY, you should contact a knowledgeable theft charge attorney in Nassau County to fight the charges. Don’t risk being convicted and losing your freedom.