Is Fraud a Felony? False Pretenses, Theft by Deception, and Penalties by State (2026)

Yes — fraud is a felony when the value of what was taken reaches the state's felony theft threshold, which in most states sits between $100 and $2,500. Below that line the same conduct is a misdemeanor (petty theft by deception, petty larceny by false pretenses). Several specific fraud offenses — welfare/benefits fraud, credit card fraud, computer fraud, identity theft, securities fraud, and the federal mail/wire/bank/healthcare fraud statutes — are felonies at lower dollar amounts or at any amount. Federal wire and mail fraud (18 U.S.C. §§ 1343 and 1341) are felonies at ANY dollar amount, with up to 20 years (30 if a financial institution is affected). Aggravating factors — elderly or vulnerable victim, public funds, a pattern or scheme of conduct, prior fraud convictions — push even small-amount fraud into felony territory or stack extra prison time. Restitution is almost always ordered in addition to prison, and fraud is a crime of moral turpitude with immigration and licensing collateral consequences.

Fraud, in criminal law, is obtaining property, services, money, or a legal advantage through a knowing misrepresentation of a material fact, intending to deceive the victim, where the victim relies on the misrepresentation and hands something over. The umbrella covers several closely related offenses:

- Theft by deception (the offender deceives the victim into voluntarily transferring property). - Theft by false pretenses (the offender makes a false representation of an existing past or present fact that the victim relies on). - Larceny by trick (the offender obtains possession, but not title, by fraud — title only transfers with intent to pass title). - Forgery (altering or making a false document with intent to defraud). - Credit card fraud (using a card without consent or with knowledge it is revoked/invalid). - Identity theft (using another person's identifying information to obtain property or credit). - Computer fraud (using a computer to access or alter data, or to commit fraud). - Welfare/benefits fraud (false statements or concealment to obtain public assistance). - Healthcare fraud (false claims to insurers, Medicare/Medicaid). - Securities fraud (misrepresentations in the offer or sale of securities). - Mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud (federal statutes).

The mental state required is almost always 'knowing' or 'intentional' — the defendant must know the representation was false and intend to deprive the victim of property. Reckless disregard for the truth may suffice in some specific fraud statutes. Mistake, honest belief the representation was true, and good-faith disputes about a debt are defenses.

Theft, fraud, and embezzlement all end with the offender possessing property that was not theirs, but they differ in how the offender gets it:

- Theft (larceny): the offender takes property from the victim without consent and without deception — a trespassory taking. - Fraud (theft by deception / false pretenses / larceny by trick): the offender obtains property through deception; the victim consents to the transfer because of a material misrepresentation, so the taking is not technically trespassory. Consent obtained by fraud is not legally valid consent. - Embezzlement: the offender is already in lawful possession of the property (entrusted to them) and then converts it for their own use — there is no initial trespassory taking and no deception of the victim at the moment of taking.

Most states consolidated these offenses into a single 'theft' statute in the 1960s–80s, so theft by deception, false pretenses, and embezzlement are graded the same way — by dollar amount — even though the underlying theories of liability differ. A handful of states (New York, California, North Carolina, Virginia, Michigan, Mississippi, Vermont, South Carolina) keep a standalone false-pretenses or theft-by-deception statute alongside the general theft statute, but the dollar thresholds track the theft statute.

The single most important variable is the dollar amount of property, services, or money taken. States line up roughly as follows (figures are 2026 values, after several state-level reform cycles):

- $50 threshold (historically low): Mississippi and Oklahoma historically, both now raised to $1,000. - $100–$200 threshold: Alabama ($500), Minnesota (gross misdemeanor $500, felony $1,000). - $500 threshold: Georgia, Kentucky, Indiana (after 2022 reform), Michigan (misdemeanor up to $999, felony at $1,000). - $750–$1,000 threshold: California ($950), Colorado ($2,000 felony), Florida ($750), Missouri ($750), New York ($1,000), Ohio ($1,000), Oregon ($1,000), Tennessee ($1,000), Washington ($750). - $1,200–$1,500 threshold: Nevada ($1,200), Delaware ($1,500), Maryland ($1,500), Massachusetts ($1,200), Montana ($1,500), New Hampshire ($1,500), North Dakota ($1,000), Rhode Island ($1,500), West Virginia ($1,000), Wyoming ($1,000), Virginia ($1,000), Vermont ($900). - $2,500 threshold: Texas ($2,500) and Wisconsin ($2,500) — the highest felony theft thresholds in the country.

Below the threshold the offense is a misdemeanor, typically punishable by 0–364 days in county jail plus fines and restitution. At or above the threshold the offense is a felony — grand larceny, grand theft, theft in the 1st or 2nd degree, or felony false pretenses — with a sentencing range that climbs with the dollar amount in tiers (e.g., Class E → Class D → Class C as value climbs from $1,000 to $50,000 to $1,000,000).

A common trick prosecutors use: aggregation. When a defendant commits several small frauds as part of one scheme or common plan, the state aggregates the value of each act into a single total, which often crosses the felony threshold even though no single act would. Look for 'common scheme,' 'scheme to defraud,' or 'one-episode' language in your state's theft statute.

Beyond the general theft-by-deception statute, every state has dedicated fraud statutes with their own grading:

- Welfare / public benefits fraud: false statements or concealment of facts to obtain SNAP, TANF, Medicaid, unemployment, or other government benefits. Often a felony at any amount over a low floor (e.g., $500) because it involves public funds; restitution to the agency is mandatory and benefits can be disqualified for life. - Credit card / access device fraud: using a lost or stolen card, using a card knowing it is revoked, or using a card without the cardholder's consent. Most states grade credit card fraud as a felony at any amount or at a low threshold (often $500), regardless of the general theft threshold. - Computer fraud / identity theft: using a computer to access data, alter data, or commit fraud, or using another person's identifying information. These are almost universally felonies at any amount in modern statutes. - Securities fraud: misrepresentations in the offer, sale, or purchase of securities. State blue-sky laws and the federal Securities Exchange Act make this a felony at any material amount. - Healthcare fraud: false statements to insurers, Medicare, or Medicaid; upcoding, phantom billing, kickbacks. State Medicaid fraud statutes and 18 U.S.C. § 1347 make this a felony. - Forgery / uttering a forged instrument: making or passing a false document. Often a felony at any amount (wobbler in California). - Bad-check statutes: passing checks knowing there are insufficient funds. Often a misdemeanor below a threshold (e.g., $1,500) and a felony above.

If the conduct fits one of these specific statutes, the general theft threshold may not apply — the specific statute controls.

Federal fraud is a felony at ANY dollar amount. The major federal statutes:

- 18 U.S.C. § 1341 (mail fraud): using the U.S. mail in furtherance of a scheme to defraud. Felony up to 20 years; up to 30 years if the scheme affects a financial institution or disaster relief, and a fine up to $250,000 (or $1,000,000 if a financial institution is involved). - 18 U.S.C. § 1343 (wire fraud): using interstate wire, radio, or television communication in furtherance of a scheme to defraud. Same penalties as mail fraud — up to 20 years, 30 if a financial institution is affected. - 18 U.S.C. § 1344 (bank fraud): engaging in a scheme to defraud a financial institution. Felony up to 30 years and a fine up to $1,000,000. - 18 U.S.C. § 1347 (healthcare fraud): scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program. Felony up to 10 years; up to 20 years if serious bodily injury results; up to life if death results. - 18 U.S.C. § 1348 (securities fraud / accounting fraud): fraud in connection with securities or commodities. Felony up to 20 years (25 for certain conduct). - 18 U.S.C. § 1028 (identity theft — aggravated): 2-year mandatory minimum on top of the underlying fraud sentence. - 18 U.S.C. § 1029 (access device fraud): credit card fraud; up to 10–15 years. - 18 U.S.C. § 1030 (computer fraud): unauthorized access to obtain information or money; up to 1–10 years (20 if repeat or serious harm).

The key feature of federal fraud is that there is no minimum dollar amount and no misdemeanor tier. Even a $50 scheme to defraud using email is a federal wire fraud felony. The dollar amount drives sentencing (sentencing guidelines loss table) but not whether the offense is a felony.

A fraud conviction carries more than jail time:

- Restitution is virtually always ordered, to the identified victims and to any insurer or government agency that reimbursed them. Federal Mandatory Victims Restitution Act (18 U.S.C. § 3663A) requires full restitution for losses from the offense; state statutes mirror this. - Civil liability: victims can sue for fraud (deceit), with damages including compensatory damages, and in many states punitive damages (often 2–3x compensatory, sometimes more for elder fraud). The civil standard of proof is lower than criminal beyond a reasonable doubt. - Crime of moral turpitude: fraud is a crime of moral turpitude in most jurisdictions, which has immigration consequences (deportability and inadmissibility for non-citizens), bars on certain professional licenses (nursing, law, accounting, real estate, insurance), and bars on firearm ownership in some states. - Public benefits disqualification: welfare/benefits fraud triggers permanent or long-term disqualification from the relevant program. - Federal collateral consequences: bank fraud, healthcare fraud, and securities fraud carry debarment from federal contracting, Medicare/Medicaid provider exclusion, and SEC industry bars. - Enhanced sentencing: prior fraud convictions can elevate grading (e.g., habitual offender enhancements), and organized fraud rings can trigger racketeering charges (state RICO or federal RICO under 18 U.S.C. § 1962).

If you are being investigated for or charged with fraud:

1. Do not speak to investigators without a lawyer. Anything you say can be used against you, and statements made to federal agents can form the basis of separate false-statement charges (18 U.S.C. § 1001). 2. Get a criminal defense lawyer licensed in the jurisdiction (state or federal) as soon as possible. If you cannot afford one, ask for a public defender at your first appearance. 3. Gather and preserve documents: the value of what was allegedly taken, the alleged misrepresentations, any contracts or communications, any restitution already paid, any good-faith belief that the representations were true. 4. Do not contact the alleged victim or any witnesses — this can lead to witness tampering charges. 5. If restitution is at issue, be prepared to dispute the loss amount. Loss calculation drives sentencing under the federal sentencing guidelines and many state sentencing grids. 6. Consider whether there is a viable defense: lack of intent to deceive, good-faith belief the representation was true, value below the felony threshold (negotiate a misdemeanor or diversion), mistake of fact, statute of limitations (federal fraud is generally 5 years; longer for some bank/securities fraud), or constitutional defects in the investigation. 7. If you are a non-citizen, talk to an immigration lawyer immediately — fraud is a crime of moral turpitude and an aggravated felony in some configurations, both of which have deportation consequences. 8. If you already have a fraud conviction and are asking about expungement or sealing, look at your state's expungement statute — many states seal or expunge first-time misdemeanor theft/fraud after a waiting period; felony fraud is generally harder to expunge.

This is informational only, not legal advice. A lawyer in your state can tell you how the statutes in the table above apply to your specific facts.