(1) A person is guilty of theft by failure to make required disposition of property
received when he or she:
(a) 1. Obtains property upon agreement or subject to a known legal obligation
to make specified payment, with no option to purchase, or other
disposition whether from such property or its proceeds or from his or her
own property to be reserved in equivalent amount; and
2. Intentionally deals with the property as his or her own and fails to make
the required payment or disposition; or
(b) 1. Rents or leases personal property having a fair market value of one
hundred dollars ($100) or more under a written agreement with no
option to purchase;
2. Fails to return the personal property within five (5) days after receiving
notice sent by the merchant or lessor demanding return by certified mail
at the address on the written agreement; and
3. Intentionally possesses or conceals the personal property, or otherwise
withholds the location, if known, of the personal property.
(2) (a) It shall not be a defense to subsection (1)(b) of this section that the person
returned the personal property after the expiration of the time period specified
in subsection (1)(b)2. of this section.
(b) If the personal property is returned, any monetary loss resulting from the
deprivation of the right of the owner to use the personal property for future
rentals may only be pursued as a civil matter under the terms of the rental
agreement.
(c) This section shall not be construed to prevent a person from being prosecuted
under any other provision of the Kentucky Penal Code for the failure to return
the personal property as provided in subsection (1)(b) of this section.
(3) The provisions of subsection (1) of this section apply notwithstanding that it may be
impossible to identify particular property as belonging to the victim at the time of
the actor's failure to make the required payment or disposition.
(4) An officer or employee of the government or of a financial institution is presumed:
(a) To know any legal obligation relevant to his or her criminal liability under
this section; and
(b) To have dealt with the property as his or her own when:
1. He or she fails to account or pay upon lawful demand; or
2. An audit reveals a shortage or falsification of accounts.
(5) Theft by failure to make required disposition of property received is a Class B
misdemeanor unless, for a violation of subsection (1)(a) of this section:
(a) The value of the property is five hundred dollars ($500) or more but less than
one thousand dollars ($1,000), in which case it is a Class A misdemeanor;
(b) The value of the property is one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more but less
than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), in which case it is a Class D felony;
(c) A person has three (3) or more convictions under paragraph (a) of this
subsection within the last five (5) years, in which case it is a Class D felony.
The five (5) year period shall be measured from the dates on which the
offenses occurred for which the judgments of conviction were entered; or
(d) The value of the property is ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more, in which
case it is a Class C felony.
(6) A person shall not be convicted of theft by failure to make required disposition of
property received when he or she has also been convicted of a violation of KRS
522.050 arising out of the same incident.
(7) If any person commits two (2) or more separate offenses of theft by failure to make
a required disposition of property received within ninety (90) days, the offenses
may be combined and treated as a single offense, and the value of the property in
each offense may be aggregated for the purpose of determining the appropriate
charge.
Effective: June 27, 2025
History: Amended 2025 Ky. Acts ch. 18, sec. 1, effective June 27, 2025. -- Amended
2021 Ky. Acts ch. 66, sec. 12, effective June 29, 2021. -- Amended 2009 Ky. Acts
ch. 106, sec. 10, effective June 25, 2009. -- Amended 2003 Ky. Acts ch. 76, sec. 2,
effective June 24, 2003. -- Amended 1992 Ky. Acts ch. 451, sec. 5, effective July 14,
1992. -- Created 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 406, sec. 123, effective January 1, 1975.
Notes of Decisions
Kentucky Bar Ass'n v. David Thomas Sparks, 480 S.W.3d 278 (Ky. 2016).
· cites it 5× “In Fitzgerald , the attorney, who was the designated payee for a social security disability recipient, converted the recipient’s benefits to his own use and pled guilty to theft by failure to make disposition under KRS 514.070, a Class D felony. 381 S.W.3d at 318 .”
Garcia v. Whitaker, 400 S.W.3d 270 (Ky. 2013).
· cites it 4× “Later that afternoon, Pulaski District Court Judge Kathryn Wood issued a warrant for Garcia’s arrest for failure to make required disposition of property, in violation of KRS 514.070. Whitaker accompanied the deputy sheriff and detective to Garcia’s residence to serve the arrest…”
Blanton v. Commonwealth, 562 S.W.2d 90 (Ky. Ct. App. 1978).
· cites it 7× “KRS 514.070 is identical with section 1530 of the final draft of the Kentucky Penal Code published in November 1971.”
Commonwealth v. Perry, 219 S.W.3d 720 (Ky. 2007).
· cites it 21× “The sole issue in this certification of the law sought by the Commonwealth is whether the offense of Theft by Failure to Make Required Disposition of Property (KRS 514.070) covers a situation in which the victim gives money to the defendant with the agreement that the defendant…”
Radford v. Lovelace, 212 S.W.3d 72 (Ky. 2006).
· cites it 2× “030 and three (3) counts of theft by failure to make required *75 disposition of property over three hundred dollars in violation of KRS 514.070. The Appellant argues that the trial court erroneously declared a mistrial without the "manifest necessity" necessary to do so,…”
Hearn v. Commonwealth, 80 S.W.3d 432 (Ky. 2002).
· cites it 2× “James and Patricia Hearn pled guilty to twelve counts of theft by failure to make required disposition of property received in violation of KRS 514.070, and one count of theft by deception under KRS 514.”
Commonwealth v. Hay, 987 S.W.2d 792 (Ky. Ct. App. 1998).
· cites it 7× “The Hays further argued that because they could not be expected to know about the criminal nature of their failure to report the profits to the Franklin Fiscal Court, they lacked the “intentional” and “knowing” culpable mental states necessary for criminal liability under KRS…”
Taylor v. Commonwealth, 799 S.W.2d 818 (Ky. 1990).
· cites it 7× “KRS 514.070 provides, in pertinent part: (1) A person is guilty of theft by failure to make required disposition of property received when: (a) He obtains property upon agreement or subject to a known legal obligation to make specified payment or other disposition whether from…”
John Ohnemus v. Travis Thompson, 594 F. App'x 864 (6th Cir. 2014).
“Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 514.070 . On April 27, 2012, the criminal charge was dismissed pursuant to a motion by the district attorney.”
Kentucky Bar Ass'n v. Greene, 386 S.W.3d 717 (Ky. 2012).
“In this case, the “criminal act” alleged by Bar Counsel is theft-by failure to make required disposition in violation of KRS 514.070. At the hearing, Respondent presented evidence that Goodman had done additional work for the Binkley Estate that she considered above and beyond…”
Kentucky Bar Ass'n v. Edwards, 377 S.W.3d 557 (Ky. 2012).
“KRS 514.070. "A person is guilty of theft by failure to make required disposition of property received when: [h]e obtains property upon agreement or subject to a known legal obligation to make specified payment or other disposition whether from such property or its proceeds or…”
Buchholtz v. Dugan, 977 S.W.2d 24 (Ky. Ct. App. 1998).
· cites it 2× “030, KRS 514.070 and KRS 517.110 regarding theft and misapplication of property.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 514.070(1) — 7 cases
Kentucky Bar Ass'n v. David Thomas Sparks, 480 S.W.3d 278 (Ky. 2016).
“In Fitzgerald , the attorney, who was the designated payee for a social security disability recipient, converted the recipient’s benefits to his own use and pled guilty to theft by failure to make disposition under KRS 514.070, a Class D felony. 381 S.W.3d at 318 .”
Blanton v. Commonwealth, 562 S.W.2d 90 (Ky. Ct. App. 1978).
“KRS 514.070 is identical with section 1530 of the final draft of the Kentucky Penal Code published in November 1971.”
Commonwealth v. Perry, 219 S.W.3d 720 (Ky. 2007).
“The sole issue in this certification of the law sought by the Commonwealth is whether the offense of Theft by Failure to Make Required Disposition of Property (KRS 514.070) covers a situation in which the victim gives money to the defendant with the agreement that the defendant…”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 514.070(4) — 2 cases
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 514.070(l)(a) — 1 case
Commonwealth v. Perry, 219 S.W.3d 720 (Ky. 2007).
“The sole issue in this certification of the law sought by the Commonwealth is whether the offense of Theft by Failure to Make Required Disposition of Property (KRS 514.070) covers a situation in which the victim gives money to the defendant with the agreement that the defendant…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.