Indiana Code

Ind. Code § 35-43-4-3 (2026)

Conversion

✓ current as of May 2026
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     Sec. 3. (a) A person who knowingly or intentionally exerts unauthorized control over property of another person commits criminal conversion, a Class A misdemeanor.

     (b) The offense under subsection (a) is a Level 6 felony if committed by a person who exerts unauthorized control over the motor vehicle of another person with the intent to use the motor vehicle to assist the person in the commission of a crime.

     (c) The offense under subsection (a) is a Level 5 felony if:

(1) committed by a person who exerts unauthorized control over the motor vehicle of another person; and

(2) the person uses the motor vehicle to assist the person in the commission of a felony.

     (d) The offense under subsection (a) is a Level 6 felony if:

(1) the person acquires the property by lease;

(2) the property is a motor vehicle;

(3) the person signs a written agreement to return the property to a specified location within a specified time; and

(4) the person fails to return the property:

(A) within thirty (30) days after the specified time; or

(B) within three (3) days after a written demand for return of the property is either:

(i) personally served on the person; or

(ii) sent by registered mail to the person's address that is provided by the person in the written agreement.

As added by Acts 1976, P.L.148, SEC.3. Amended by Acts 1977, P.L.340, SEC.46; P.L.143-2005, SEC.2; P.L.227-2011, SEC.1; P.L.158-2013, SEC.467.

 

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 185 cases (32 in the last 5 years), 1982–2026 · leading case: Infinity Prods., Inc. v. Quandt, 810 N.E.2d 1028 (Ind. 2004).
Infinity Prods., Inc. v. Quandt, 810 N.E.2d 1028 (Ind. 2004). · cites it 8× “See Ind.Code Ann. § 35-43-4-3 (West 1998). Infinity fails to make a cogent argument in support of this contention.”
Inlow v. Inlow, 797 N.E.2d 810 (Ind. Ct. App. 2003). · cites it 12× “The Complaint charged Anita with Count I, unjust enrichment; Count II, conversion pursuant to Ind.Code § 35-43-4-3; and Count III, conversion pursuant to I.”
Conwell v. Gray Loon Outdoor Mktg. Grp., Inc., 906 N.E.2d 805 (Ind. 2009). · cites it 6× “" Ind.Code § 35-43-4-3 (2008). The action that POA argues constitutes conversion amounts to Gray Loon's "destruction" of the paid-for website.”
Dill v. State, 741 N.E.2d 1230 (Ind. 2001). · cites it 3× “CODE § 35-43-4-3. [3] Although not addressing the issue of confusion, prior cases have rejected claims that a flight instruction invaded the province of the jury "when it tells the jurors that flight of the accused is a circumstance which may be considered, and from which they…”
Bennett v. State, 871 N.E.2d 316 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007). · cites it 8× “1987) (holding that "[t]he element of theft not found in the criminal conversion statute is `with intent to deprive the other person of any part of its use or value'") (citing Ind.Code Ann. § 35-43-4-3 (Burns 1985) and Ind.”
Dennis Larson, Rose Real Est., Inc., & Diversified Com. Real Est. v. Peter N. Karagan, 979 N.E.2d 655 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 6× “Ind.Code § 35-43-4-3. “A person engages in conduct ‘intentionally’ if, when he engages in the conduct, it is his conscious objective to do so.”
Wright v. State, 658 N.E.2d 563 (Ind. 1995). · cites it 2× “Ind.Code § 35-43-4-3 (1993). Thus, when the Compton court said that the trial court properly refused the requested instruction on Criminal Conversion because of the way the State had drafted the information, it said that the State may foreclose an instruction on an inherently…”
Shouse v. State, 849 N.E.2d 650 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 2× “5 with Ind.Code § 35-43-4-3. Our review of the evidence shows that there is no serious evidentiary dispute on this point.”
JET Credit Union v. Loudermilk, 879 N.E.2d 594 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 4× “Ind.Code § 35-43-4-3. A person who has suffered a pecuniary loss as a result of a criminal conversion may bring a civil action to recover the loss.”
Meridian Fin. Advisors, Ltd. v. Pence, 763 F. Supp. 2d 1046 (S.D. Ind. 2011). · cites it 4× “]” Ind.Code § 35-43-4-3 (2010). Unlike with criminal conversion, mens rea is not an element of tortious conversion.”
Nationscredit Com. Corp. v. Grauel Enter., Inc., 703 N.E.2d 1072 (Ind. Ct. App. 1998). · cites it 6× “” Ind.Code § 35-43-4-3. A party who proves criminal conversion by a preponderance of the evidence may recover damages in an amount not to exceed three times actual damages, costs of the action and reasonable attorney’s fees.”
Decatur Ventures, LLC v. Stapleton Ventures, Inc., 373 F. Supp. 2d 829 (S.D. Ind. 2005). · cites it 4× “Although not cited in their amended complaint, it appears that Plaintiffs are bringing this claim^ pursuant to Indiana Code § 35-43-4-3. . IJnder that statutory provision, “[a] person who knowingly or intentionally exerts unauthorized control over property of another person…”
Ind. Code § 35-43-4-3(a): 31 cases
Bennett v. State, 871 N.E.2d 316 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007). “1987) (holding that "[t]he element of theft not found in the criminal conversion statute is `with intent to deprive the other person of any part of its use or value'") (citing Ind.Code Ann. § 35-43-4-3 (Burns 1985) and Ind.”
Gunashekar v. Grose, 915 N.E.2d 953 (Ind. 2009).
Dennis Larson, Rose Real Est., Inc., & Diversified Com. Real Est. v. Peter N. Karagan, 979 N.E.2d 655 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012). “Ind.Code § 35-43-4-3. “A person engages in conduct ‘intentionally’ if, when he engages in the conduct, it is his conscious objective to do so.”
Sterlen Shane Keller v. State of Indiana, 987 N.E.2d 1099 (Ind. Ct. App. 2013).
Jason Findlay v. Jon Lendermon, 722 F.3d 895 (7th Cir. 2013).
Ind. Code § 35-43-4-3(b): 1 case
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