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Federal- Buying or Receiving Stolen Goods

Statute
18 USC 2315. Sale or receipt of stolen goods

Whoever receives, possesses, conceals, stores, barters, sells, or disposes of any goods, wares, or merchandise, securities, or money of the value of $5,000 or more, or pledges or accepts as security for a loan any goods, wares, or merchandise, or securities, of the value of $500 or more, which have crossed a State or United States boundary after being stolen, unlawfully converted, or taken, knowing the same to have been stolen, unlawfully converted, or taken shall be guilty of an offense against the United States.

Jury Instruction
The Defendant can be found guilty of that offense only if all of the following facts are proved beyond a reasonable doubt:

  1. That the Defendant received, possessed, concealed, stored, or disposed of items of stolen property as described in the indictment;
  2. That such items had crossed a State or United States boundary after having been stolen, unlawfully converted, or unlawfully taken;
  3. That the Defendant knew the property had been stolen, unlawfully converted or taken; and
  4. That such items had value in excess of $5000.

The indictment alleges that the Defendant received, possessed, concealed, stored, sold and disposed of certain stolen property. The law specifies several different ways in which an offense can be committed, and it is not necessary for the Government to prove that all of those acts were in fact committed. The Government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the Defendant either received, possessed, concealed, stored, sold or disposed of the stolen property; and, in order to return a verdict of guilty you must agree unanimously upon the way in which the offense was committed.

Also, in order to commit the offense charged, a Defendant must know that the property had been stolen, but the Defendant need not know that it had crossed a State or United States boundary after being stolen. The term “State” includes a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.

The word “value” means the face, par, or market value, or cost price, either wholesale or resale, whichever is greater.