OUJI-CR 5-37
FALSE PRETENSE - INTRODUCTION
The defendant is charged with
[false pretense of (Description of Property, Money, etc.)]
[attempted false pretense of (Description of Property, Money, etc.)]
[false pretense for alleged charitable purposes of (Description of Property, Money, etc.)]
[false pretense by false negotiable paper of (Description of Property, Money, etc.)]
[false personation]
[assault while masked]
[false claim for insurance]
[home repair fraud]
[credit/debit card theft]
[possession of credit/debit card]
of [Description of Property, Money, etc.] on [Date] obtained from [Name Person Allegedly Obtained From] in [Name of County] County, Oklahoma.
Committee Comments
This introductory instruction is meant for use with sections 1541.1 through 1545 of Title 21, Chapter 61, the subdivision on False Pretenses.
False pretense is a crime against the ownership of property. False pretense is, therefore, closely related to the crimes of larceny and embezzlement. In contrast with larceny, false pretense is the acquisition of title to the property of another through a fraudulent scheme, whereas larceny is the acquisition of possession of--not title to--the property. In contrast with embezzlement, false pretense is committed by the prohibited activity of obtaining title to the property through fraudulent schemes, whereas embezzlement involves the prohibited activity of appropriation of property already lawfully possessed. Warren v. State, 93 Okl. Cr. 166, 226 P.2d 320 (1950); R. Perkins, Criminal Law 306 (2d ed. 1969). The person from whom the property is obtained need not be the owner of the property so long as that person has the ability to pass title to the property. Moore v. State, 96 Okl. Cr. 118, 250 P.2d 46 (1952). Hence, the language "obtained from" is used in the instruction rather than "owned by" or "in the possession of."
Sections 1541.1 through 1541.3 create crimes of false pretense that distinguish the felony crime from the misdemeanor crime on the basis of the value of the property. Sections 1542 through 1544 also create felony false pretense crimes.
Sections 1541.4, 1541.5, and 1545 provide statutory definitions of false or bogus checks, credit, and false token. Since no crimes are stated by these three sections, no instructions were drafted for them.