Receiving Stolen Property Attorney in Hudson County

Reviewed by William A. Proetta, Esq. · Updated October 2026

Receiving stolen property under N.J.S.A. 2C:20-7 is knowingly receiving or bringing into New Jersey movable property of another, knowing it was stolen or believing it probably was. It is graded under N.J.S.A. 2C:20-2(b) by value: under $200 is a disorderly persons offense, $200 to $500 is fourth degree, more than $500 is third degree with three to five years of exposure, and $75,000 or more is second degree with a presumption of prison. A stolen firearm is third degree at any value. Since 2023 the statute no longer covers motor vehicles, which are charged under N.J.S.A. 2C:20-10.2. A disorderly persons complaint stays in the municipal court of the town, Jersey City Municipal Court at 365 Summit Avenue or Hoboken Municipal Court at 100 Newark Street. Indictable complaints are screened by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, which sits with the Criminal Division of Superior Court in the Frank J. Guarini Justice Complex, 24 Central Avenue, near Journal Square.

This is the charge for the person who had the property, not the person who took it: the buyer of a secondhand e-bike, the roommate whose apartment held someone else’s packages, the driver stopped on the Turnpike extension with merchandise in the trunk. I have defended receiving cases in Hudson County for more than 15 years. They turn on one word, “knowing,” and on the inferences the State asks a jury to draw from possession. William Proetta Criminal Law is at 242 10th Street in Jersey City; call (201) 793-8018 at any hour for a free case review.

Receiving Stolen Property Under N.J.S.A. 2C:20-7

The State must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the property was in fact stolen; that you received it, meaning you acquired possession, control or title, or lent money on the security of it; and that you knew it was stolen or believed it probably was. “Should have known” is negligence and is not the test. The State must also prove the property really was stolen, not merely that you thought so (State v. Hodde, 181 N.J. 375 (2004)).

It is an affirmative defense that you received the property to restore it to its owner, which covers the person who took a found phone home to track down who lost it. And because the Code treats theft as one consolidated offense, a complaint charging theft by unlawful taking can be proven as receiving if the evidence shows possession rather than the taking itself.

The Five Statutory Inferences of Knowledge

Subsection (b) lists five circumstances from which a jury may infer knowledge or belief. They stand in for direct proof and are the center of most receiving prosecutions:

1. Possession or control of two or more items stolen on two or more separate occasions.
2. Another receiving transaction within the year before the charged one.
3. Being a dealer in that kind of property and acquiring it without reasonable inquiry into the seller’s right to dispose of it.
4. Possession of two or more defaced access devices, such as altered credit or gift cards.
5. Possession of cargo-carrier property without proper documentation.

Each inference is permissive. The jury may decline to draw it, the judge must say so, and it never shifts the burden of proof (State v. DiRienzo, 53 N.J. 360 (1969)). An inference may be charged only where the evidence supports it (State v. Humphrey, 183 N.J. Super. 580 (Law Div. 1982)).

Grading and Penalties for Receiving Stolen Property

Value is fair market value when received, and items received in one scheme may be aggregated. Restitution for unrecovered property is ordered under N.J.S.A. 2C:44-2(b). A receiving conviction also counts toward the 2025 retail theft law: a defendant with two or more prior convictions for receiving, shoplifting or organized retail theft who is convicted again within ten years of the last release or most recent qualifying offense faces a mandatory extended term on the prosecutor’s application under N.J.S.A. 2C:20-11.3.

Two neighboring provisions matter. Fencing under N.J.S.A. 2C:20-7.1, the business of buying and selling stolen goods, was amended by P.L.2025, c.39 to reach dealing “through an online platform via any electronic device or through a social media site.” The same law created N.J.S.A. 2C:20-7.3, fostering the sale of stolen property, a disorderly persons offense described in the FAQs below. Stolen cars are covered on our auto theft page.

Receiving Stolen Property Charges in Jersey City, Hoboken and Hudson County

In Hudson County the typical receiving defendant bought something. Bikes and e-bikes stolen in Hoboken and downtown Jersey City can resurface on resale apps, and phones taken near the Grove Street and Newport PATH stations can be sold on with the owner’s tracking still running. When the owner tracks the item to a buyer, the buyer gets the visit from police, and the question becomes what the buyer knew. A price far under market, no receipt, a filed-off serial number or a phone still locked to someone else’s account are the facts the State uses to argue belief.

The second pattern is the vehicle stop. The Holland Tunnel approach, the Turnpike extension and Routes 1&9 through Jersey City and Kearny produce stops that turn up merchandise, tools or electronics in a trunk, and a receiving charge follows when an officer runs a serial number. Those cases raise the search question first and the knowledge question second. The third is the shared-space case, a roommate or parent whose apartment held property belonging to someone else living there.

Disorderly persons complaints go to Jersey City Municipal Court or Hoboken Municipal Court. Indictable ones are screened by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, where a weak knowledge element is the argument for a downgrade or dismissal before any grand jury presentation.

Diversion: The Fencing Factor

Eligibility rules for Pretrial Intervention and conditional dismissal are on our theft and fraud overview. What is particular to receiving is the PTI factor for involvement in a continuing criminal business. Repeated transactions, an online storefront or several items from separate thefts look like fencing, and the application has to answer that reading with records showing a one-time purchase for personal use.

Arrest and Pretrial Release

A buyer traced through a tracking app or marketplace account is usually charged on a summons. An arrest during a traffic stop is more likely to produce a complaint-warrant and a first appearance within 48 hours. A detention motion would have to rest on something beyond the receiving count, such as a weapons charge or a large fencing allegation.

Immigration Consequences

Receipt of stolen property is named in the federal definition: a “theft offense (including receipt of stolen property)” with a term of imprisonment of at least one year is an aggravated felony under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(G). Because knowledge that the property was stolen is an element, a conviction is also likely to be treated as a crime involving moral turpitude. For a non-citizen the plea objectives are a sentence of 364 days or less on each count and, where the facts allow, a disposition that does not require admitting knowledge.

Defenses to a Receiving Stolen Property Charge

• No knowledge or belief. A fair price, a receipt or screenshots of the listing all cut against the inference.
• The property was not proven stolen. Under Hodde, the State must prove an actual theft. A complainant’s word that an item is theirs, without a report, serial number or proof of ownership, may fall short.
• No possession or control. Property found in a shared apartment, a borrowed car or a common storage area is not necessarily in your possession.
• Inference improperly charged. If the evidence did not support one of the five circumstances, the jury should not have heard about it (Humphrey), and an instruction treating the inference as mandatory is error under DiRienzo.
• Purpose to restore. Taking a found item home to locate the owner is an affirmative defense under subsection (a).
• The search. A stop without reasonable suspicion, or a search without a warrant or valid consent, supports a motion to suppress, and without the property there is no case.
• Value. A used phone or bike is worth its resale value, not its retail price, and the State must prove the figure. A reduction below $500 or $200 changes the grade and the court.

Talk to a Hudson County Receiving Stolen Property Lawyer

If police have contacted you about something you bought, were handed or stored, the first decision is whether to answer questions, and the answer is not yet. We will read the listing, the payment trail and the report before you say a word. Call William Proetta Criminal Law at (201) 793-8018, any hour, for a free, confidential case review.