Opinion ID: 2066060
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Theft by Misapplication of Property (Count VIII)

Text: [¶ 26] A theft by misapplication of property occurs when the defendant: obtains property from anyone or personal services from an employee upon agreement, or subject to a known legal obligation, to make a specified payment or other disposition to a 3rd person or to a fund administered by that person, whether from that property or its proceeds or from that person's own property to be reserved in an equivalent or agreed amount, if that person intentionally or recklessly fails to make the required payment or disposition and deals with the property obtained or withheld as that person's own. 17-A M.R.S. § 358(1)(A); see Nelson, 1998 ME 183, ¶ 6, 714 A.2d at 833-34. Charges of theft by misapplication should not result for mere civil failure to perform a contractual obligation, and criminal liability should be limited to those situations [involving] a kind of trust or fiduciary obligation. Nelson, 1998 ME 183, ¶ 6, 714 A.2d at 833-34 (quotation marks omitted). Thus, the State was required to establish the existence of an agreement or legal obligation to make payment from property obtained or its proceeds or from property to be reserved in equivalent amount, either by establishing that the defendant acted as the victim's agent or that he held proceeds in trust for the victim. Id. ¶¶ 6, 8, 714 A.2d at 834 (quotation marks omitted). When the value of the property exceeds $10,000, as here, theft by misapplication of property is a Class B crime. 17-A M.R.S. § 358(1)(B)(1). [¶ 27] Schmidt's conviction for theft in Count VIII is based on evidence that Schmidt, as an agent for the Foundation, improperly retained money intended to compensate subcontractors, suppliers, and others whose labor and services were utilized in renovating the Main Street building. The State did establish that Schmidt obtained and administered City money on behalf of the Foundation totaling more than $10,000, on the condition of payment of those funds to suppliers and subcontractors for goods and services rendered in renovating the building, and that Schmidt failed to make those requisite payments, instead retaining the money for personal purposes for himself and his girlfriend. A reasonable view of the evidence also establishes that Schmidt had a trust obligation to the Foundation, as the sole person with control over its funds, and supports a conviction of theft by misapplication of property.