What Is 18 USC 661? Federal Theft Penalties and Jurisdiction

18 U.S.C. 661 is the federal theft statute that applies when someone takes and carries away another person’s personal property inside a place under federal jurisdiction. Property worth more than $1,000 carries up to five years in federal prison; property worth $1,000 or less carries up to one year. Theft directly from a person is treated as a felony no matter the value.¹ The statute is narrower than most people think, because it only reaches theft that happens in specific federal locations.

What the Statute Prohibits

Section 661 targets one act: taking and carrying away another person’s personal property with the intent to steal it. The theft must occur within what federal law calls the “special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.”¹ If you physically remove someone else’s belongings from one of those locations and mean to keep them, you have committed the offense.

The statute does not cover embezzlement, fraud, or theft of government property. Those live in separate federal laws. Section 661 is a traditional larceny provision, and courts have held that “takes and carries away” requires an actual removal, not misuse of something you already possess.

Where 18 U.S.C. 661 Applies

The reach of the statute is defined entirely by geography. The “special maritime and territorial jurisdiction” is listed in 18 U.S.C. 7 and covers several categories of place:²

Federal lands and buildings, including military bases, national parks, federal courthouses, veterans’ hospitals, and land the federal government acquired with a state legislature’s consent for forts, arsenals, or other government buildings.
U.S. vessels on the high seas or on waters outside any single state’s jurisdiction, including the Great Lakes and their connecting waterways.
U.S. aircraft in flight over the high seas or waters outside state jurisdiction.
Spacecraft registered under the United States pursuant to international space treaties, from the moment all doors close on Earth until they reopen after landing.
U.S. diplomatic and military facilities abroad, for offenses by or against U.S. nationals.
Places outside any nation’s jurisdiction, for offenses by or against a U.S. national.

The practical effect: shoplifting from a gift store inside Yellowstone or taking a laptop from a barracks on a military installation becomes a federal charge under Section 661 rather than a state theft case. City streets, private businesses, and ordinary shopping malls do not fall under the statute, even when the victim happens to be a federal employee. Location is the trigger.

Intent Prosecutors Must Prove

A conviction requires proof that you intended to steal or purloin the property.¹ Accidentally picking up someone else’s bag or mistakenly believing property had been abandoned is not enough. The government has to show you meant to take something belonging to another person and to keep it.

Prosecutors almost never have a signed confession about intent. They build the case through circumstantial evidence: hiding the item, lying about how you got it, selling it quickly, or altering it to remove identifying marks. Those behaviors let a jury reasonably conclude you knew what you were doing.

A common defense is claiming you intended to return the property. Courts generally reject this when the facts suggest otherwise, but genuine temporary borrowing with a demonstrable plan to return the item can undermine the prosecution’s case. The intent to permanently deprive the owner must exist at the time of the taking. Saying “I was going to give it back” after being caught carries little weight without evidence to support it.

The $1,000 Line and the “From the Person” Rule

Section 661 divides theft into two tiers. Property worth more than $1,000 triggers felony penalties. Property worth $1,000 or less is a misdemeanor. There is one important exception: theft “from the person of another” is always a felony, regardless of value.¹

That means pickpocketing a $20 bill at a national park or snatching a phone from someone’s hand on a military base carries the same maximum sentence as stealing $5,000 worth of equipment from a federal warehouse. Congress treated theft from a person’s body or immediate possession as inherently more serious because of the risk of physical confrontation.

The $1,000 figure refers to fair market value at the time of the theft. When market value is hard to pin down, courts look at replacement cost to the victim. Judges have significant discretion in estimating value and can rely on purchase records, appraisals, or comparable sales. Defendants often challenge valuation, because the dispute can be the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony.

Prison Time, Fines, and Restitution

The statutory maximums are straightforward. A misdemeanor conviction (property worth $1,000 or less, not taken from a person) carries up to one year in federal prison, a fine of up to $100,000, or both. A felony conviction (property worth more than $1,000, or taken from a person) carries up to five years in federal prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both.¹³

The fine amounts come from 18 U.S.C. 3571, which sets default maximums for federal crimes. A separate provision in that section allows the judge to impose a fine of up to twice the defendant’s gain or the victim’s loss, whichever is greater, if that figure exceeds the standard cap.³ For high-value theft, that alternative can dwarf the standard number.

Under federal offense classification rules, the felony version is a Class D felony and the misdemeanor version is a Class A misdemeanor.⁴ Those labels determine supervised release terms and other downstream consequences.

Restitution comes on top of any prison time and fines, and it is not optional. Under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act, a defendant convicted of a property offense must repay the victim.⁵ The order requires you to return the stolen property or, if that is impossible, pay the greater of its value at the time of the theft or at the time of sentencing. Restitution also covers expenses the victim incurred participating in the investigation or prosecution, including lost wages, transportation, and child care. A defendant who serves a full prison sentence still owes restitution upon release, and the obligation can follow them for years through wage garnishment.

Federal sentences often include supervised release after prison. A Class D felony conviction can carry up to three years of supervised release. A Class A misdemeanor can carry up to one year.⁶ Supervised release functions much like probation. A federal probation officer monitors the defendant, who must follow conditions such as regular check-ins, employment requirements, travel restrictions, and drug testing. Violating a condition can send the defendant back to prison for part or all of the remaining term.

How the Sentencing Guidelines Shape the Actual Number

The statutory maximum is the ceiling, not the sentence. What a defendant actually receives depends heavily on the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which assign a numerical offense level based on several factors. Judges use the guidelines as an advisory starting point and can depart from them with adequate justification.

For theft offenses, the guidelines begin with a base offense level of 6.⁷ That level increases based on the dollar loss. Losses above $6,500 start adding levels, and the scale climbs steeply. A theft causing $40,000 in loss adds 6 levels; a loss above $150,000 adds 10.

The guidelines also add levels for specific aggravating factors. If the defendant held a position of trust that made the theft easier to commit or harder to detect, the offense level goes up by 2.⁸ That enhancement typically applies to people with professional or managerial discretion, such as a bank executive or a government contractor with access to secure areas. An ordinary clerk or entry-level employee generally does not qualify.

Long-Term Consequences of a Conviction

Prison time and fines are just the beginning. A federal theft conviction creates lasting collateral consequences that many defendants don’t anticipate until it is too late.

The most significant for many people is the loss of firearm rights. Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison from possessing any firearm or ammunition.⁹ A felony conviction under Section 661 crosses that threshold, and the ban is permanent unless removed through a presidential pardon, expungement, or a full restoration of civil rights that explicitly includes firearms.

Beyond firearms, a federal felony can disqualify you from government employment, professional licenses, federal student aid, and public housing. It appears on background checks indefinitely, affecting private-sector employment as well. Even a misdemeanor conviction under this statute creates a federal criminal record that will follow you.

Time Limit to Bring Charges

The government has five years from the date of the theft to file charges. This is the general federal statute of limitations for non-capital offenses, and it applies to Section 661 because no special limitations period overrides it.¹⁰

One major exception: the clock stops if you flee from justice. Federal law provides that no statute of limitations protects a fugitive.¹¹ Leaving the jurisdiction to avoid prosecution freezes the five-year window, which does not resume until you return or are apprehended.

How 18 U.S.C. 661 Differs From Related Theft Statutes

Section 661 is one piece of a broader federal theft framework. Two other statutes are often confused with it.

18 U.S.C. 641 covers theft of government property. If you steal, embezzle, or knowingly convert any money, record, or thing of value belonging to the United States or a federal agency, this is the statute that applies. Penalties reach up to ten years for property worth more than $1,000, and up to one year for $1,000 or less.¹² Unlike Section 661, this statute is not limited to federal territory. Stealing a government laptop from a coffee shop in downtown Chicago still violates Section 641, because the trigger is the ownership of the property, not the location of the theft.

18 U.S.C. 659 targets theft from interstate or foreign shipments. Stealing goods from a railroad car, truck, warehouse, aircraft, or shipping container while those goods move in interstate commerce carries up to ten years for property worth $1,000 or more, and up to three years below that threshold.¹³ Cargo theft rings and package theft from delivery vehicles typically fall under this provision.

The distinction matters when prosecutors decide what to charge. Section 661 is triggered by where the theft happens. Section 641 is triggered by what is stolen. Section 659 is triggered by the movement of goods across state lines. A single theft can potentially violate more than one, and prosecutors choose the charge that best fits the facts and carries the strongest penalties.

State Charges for the Same Theft

A federal theft charge does not prevent a state from bringing its own case for the same act. The Supreme Court reaffirmed in Gamble v. United States (2019) that the Double Jeopardy Clause does not bar separate prosecutions by separate sovereigns.¹⁴ Because federal and state governments are independent sovereigns, each can define and prosecute the same underlying conduct as separate offenses.

Dual prosecution is uncommon in practice. Federal and state prosecutors usually coordinate and defer to whichever jurisdiction has the stronger case or the more appropriate penalties. But the possibility exists. A defendant acquitted in federal court could still face state charges, and vice versa. At locations with concurrent federal and state jurisdiction, both governments retain the legal authority to prosecute.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S.C. 661 – Within Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 7 – Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction of the United States Defined
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3571 – Sentence of Fine
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3559 – Sentencing Classification of Offenses
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3663A – Mandatory Restitution to Victims of Certain Crimes
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3583 – Inclusion of a Term of Supervised Release After Imprisonment
7
United States Sentencing Commission. USSG 2B1.1 – Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft
8
United States Sentencing Commission. USSG 3B1.3 – Abuse of Position of Trust or Use of Special Skill
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S.C. 3282 – Offenses Not Capital
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S.C. 3290 – Fugitives From Justice
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 641 – Public Money, Property or Records
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 659 – Interstate or Foreign Shipments by Carrier
14
Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center. Gamble v. United States