Massachusetts Statutes

Section 32. Whoever, being a captain of a vessel, embezzles or fraudulently converts or appropriates money, goods or property, held or possessed by or delivered to him, which belong wholly or in part to the crew of such vessel, the owners of the vessel, or to those who have furni…

Section 33. (1) Whoever, with intent to defraud, obtains by a false pretence the making, acceptance or endorsement of a bill of exchange or promissory note, the release or substitution of collateral or other security, an extension of time for the payment of an obligation, or the …

Section 33A. Whoever, with intent to defraud, obtains, or attempts to obtain, or aids or abets another in obtaining, any commercial computer service by false representation, false statement, unauthorized charging to the account of another, by installing or tampering with any faci…

Section 34. Whoever, with intent to defraud and by a false pretence, induces another to part with property of any kind or with any of the benefits described in sections 33 and 33A shall be guilty of larceny.

Section 35. Sections thirty, thirty-one and thirty-four shall not apply to a purchase of property by means of a false pretence relative to the purchaser's means or ability to pay, if, by the terms of the purchase, payment therefor is not to be made upon or before the delivery of …

Section 35A. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly otherwise requires:— ''Funds'', shall include, but not be limited to, a commission, fee, yield spread premium or compensation in any form. ''Material omissi…

Section 37. Whoever, with intent to defraud, makes, draws, utters or delivers any check, draft or order for the payment of money upon any bank or other depositary, with knowledge that the maker or drawer has not sufficient funds or credit at such bank or other depositary for the …

Section 37A. As used in sections thirty-seven A to thirty-seven C, inclusive, the following words shall have the following meanings, unless the context otherwise requires: ''Cardholder'', the person named on the face of a credit card to whom or for whose benefit the credit card i…

Section 37B. Whoever, with intent to defraud, (a) makes or causes to be made, either directly or indirectly, any false statement as to a material fact in writing, knowing it to be false and with intent that it be relied on, respecting his identity or that of any other person, or …

Section 37C. Whoever, with intent to defraud, (a) obtains control over a credit card as security for debt, or (b) receives a credit card which he knows was taken or retained under circumstances which constitute credit card theft or a violation of clauses (a) or (d) of section thi…

Section 37D. Whoever publishes or causes to be published the number or code of an existing, canceled, revoked, expired, or nonexistent credit card issued by a public utility company or the numbering or coding system which is employed in the issuance of such credit cards, or any m…

Section 37E. (a) For purposes of this section, the following words shall have the following meanings:— ''Harass'', willfully and maliciously engage in an act directed at a specific person or persons, which act seriously alarms or annoys such person or persons and would cause a re…

Section 38. Whoever, being engaged in the business of transporting merchandise, parcels or other property for hire, accepts from a consignor or his agent or from a connecting carrier any merchandise, parcel or other property for delivery to a consignee upon payment by the consign…

Section 38A. Whoever obtains a building or construction loan, secured by a mortgage of real estate, for the payment for labor furnished or to be furnished and/or materials used and/or employed or to be used and/or employed in the construction, repair, removal or alteration of a b…

Section 39. Whoever steals or for any fraudulent purpose destroys, mutilates or conceals a will, codicil or other testamentary instrument shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years or in the house of correction for not more than two years. …

Section 40. Whoever, having been convicted, upon indictment, of larceny or of being accessory to larceny before the fact, afterward commits a larceny or is accessory thereto before the fact, and is convicted thereof upon indictment, and whoever is convicted at the same sitting of…

Section 41. Whoever is convicted of a second offence of the larceny of a bicycle shall, if the value of the bicycle stolen exceeds ten dollars, be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years or by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars or by imp…

Section 42. Whoever commits larceny of a printed piece of paper or blank designed for issue by any incorporated bank or banking company in the United States as a bank bill, certificate or promissory note, or printed by means of an engraved plate designed for printing such pieces …

Section 43. Whoever, having been employed to print or having assisted in printing a printed piece of paper or blank described in the preceding section, or having been intrusted with the care or custody thereof, retains it in his possession without the knowledge and consent of the…

Section 47. Whoever wrongfully removes the collar from a dog which is licensed and collared as provided in chapter one hundred and forty shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars, or by six months' imprisonment, or both.

Section 48. An officer who arrests a person charged as principal or accessory in a robbery or larceny shall secure the property which is alleged to have been stolen, annex a schedule thereof to his return and be answerable for the same; and, upon conviction of the offender, it sh…

Section 49. Whoever makes or mends, or begins to make or mend, or knowingly has in his possession, an engine, machine, tool or implement adapted and designed for cutting through, forcing or breaking open a building, room, vault, safe or other depository, in order to steal therefr…

Section 5. Whoever wilfully and maliciously sets fire to, or burns or otherwise destroys or injures by burning, or causes to be burned or otherwise so destroyed or injured, or whoever aids, counsels or procures the burning of, a pile or parcel of wood, boards, timber or other lum…

Section 50. A person employed in the treasury of the commonwealth who commits a fraud or embezzlement therein shall be punished by a fine of not more than two thousand dollars or by imprisonment in the state prison for life or for any term of years.

Section 51. A county, city or town officer who embezzles or fraudulently converts, or who fraudulently takes or secretes with intent so to do, effects or property which belong to or are in possession of said county, city or town, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state pri…

Section 52. An officer, director, trustee, agent or employee of a bank, as defined in section one of chapter one hundred and sixty-seven, who fraudulently converts, or fraudulently takes and secretes with intent so to do, any bullion, money, note, bill or other security for money…

Section 53. In prosecutions for such crimes, the fraudulent taking or receiving by any person of bullion, money, notes, bills or other security for money which belongs to such bank, by reason of an unlawful confederacy or agreement between him and an officer of said bank or any p…

Section 53A. An officer, director, trustee, agent or employee of a bank, as defined in section one of chapter one hundred and sixty-seven, who wilfully misapplies otherwise than as described in section fifty-two or fifty-three, any of the moneys, funds, credits or other property …

Section 54. Any officer or employee of a bank, as defined in section one of chapter one hundred and sixty-seven, who receives or permits the receipt of any deposit knowing that such bank is insolvent, shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than two and one half years or b…

Section 55. An agent appointed by the commissioner of banks for the purposes of liquidating the affairs of a bank, as defined in section one of chapter one hundred and sixty-seven, or a person employed by said commissioner under section twenty-six of said chapter, or a receiver o…

Section 56. A broker, or officer, manager or agent of a corporation doing the business of brokers, who, having been intrusted, solely or jointly, with money, stock or security for the payment of money, with any direction in writing to invest, dispose of, apply, pay or deliver suc…

Section 57. A trustee under an express trust created by a deed, will or other instrument in writing, or a guardian, conservator, executor or administrator, or any person upon or to whom such a trust has devolved or come, who embezzles or fraudulently converts or appropriates mone…

Section 58. Whoever, being an officer, agent, clerk or servant of a voluntary association or society, embezzles or fraudulently converts, or fraudulently takes or secretes with intent so to do, effects or property which belong to such association or society, or which have come to…

Section 59. Whoever embezzles or fraudulently converts, or secretes with intent to embezzle or fraudulently convert, money, goods or property or any part thereof which has been delivered to him, which may be the subject of larceny and which belong to any organization of the volun…

Section 5A. Whoever wilfully and maliciously attempts to set fire to, or attempts to burn, or aids, counsels or assists in such an attempt to set fire to or burn, any of the buildings, structures or property mentioned in the foregoing sections, or whoever commits any act prelimin…

Section 60. Whoever buys, receives or aids in the concealment of stolen or embezzled property, knowing it to have been stolen or embezzled, or whoever with intent to defraud buys, receives or aids in the concealment of property, knowing it to have been obtained from a person by f…

Section 60A. Whoever buys, receives, conceals, stores, barters, sells or disposes of any trade secret, or pledges or accepts as security for a loan any trade secret, regardless of value, knowing the same to have been stolen, unlawfully converted, or taken, shall be punished by im…

Section 60B. Crimes committed in different counties or the territorial jurisdiction of different courts in violation of this chapter, if the crimes may be joined for trial under the Massachusetts Rules of Criminal Procedure but for venue and jurisdiction, may be charged and prose…

Section 61. If, upon a first conviction under the preceding section, it is shown that the act of stealing the property was a simple larceny, and if the person convicted makes restitution to the person injured to the full value of the property stolen and not restored, he shall not…

Section 62. Whoever is convicted of buying, receiving or aiding in the concealment of stolen or embezzled property, knowing it to have been stolen or embezzled, having been before convicted of the like offence, and whoever is convicted at the same sitting of the court of three or…

Section 63. Whoever wilfully, mischievously and without right takes or uses a boat or vehicle, other than a motor vehicle, or takes, drives, rides or uses any draught animal which is the property of another, without the consent of the owner or other person who has the legal custo…

Section 64. Whoever hires a horse, carriage or other vehicle, and, with intent to cheat or defraud the owner thereof, makes to him or to his agent at the time of such hiring a false statement of the distance which he proposes to travel with such horse, carriage or other vehicle, …

Section 65. An officer, agent, clerk or servant of a corporation, or any other person, who issues or signs with intent to issue a certificate of stock in a corporation, or who issues, signs or endorses with intent to issue, a bond, note, bill or other obligation or security in th…

Section 66. An officer, agent, clerk or servant of a corporation, or any other person, who fraudulently issues or transfers a certificate of the stock of a corporation to a person who is not entitled thereto, or who fraudulently signs such certificate, in blank or otherwise, with…

Section 67. An officer of a corporation or an agent, clerk or servant of a person, firm or corporation who makes a false entry or omits to make a true entry in any book of such person, firm or corporation, with intent to defraud, and any person whose duty it is to make a record o…

Section 67A. Whoever, in any matter, relative to procurement of supplies, services or construction, as defined in section one of chapter twelve A, within the jurisdiction of any department, agency or public instrumentality of the commonwealth, or of any political subdivision ther…