Theft by person required to account
330 (1) Every one commits theft who, having received anything from any person on terms that require him to account for or pay it or the proceeds of it or a part of the proceeds to that person or another person, fraudulently fails to account for or pay it or the proceeds of it or the part of the proceeds of it accordingly.
Effect of entry in account
(2) Where subsection (1) otherwise applies, but one of the terms is that the thing received or the proceeds or part of the proceeds of it shall be an item in a debtor and creditor account between the person who receives the thing and the person to whom he is to account for or to pay it, and that the latter shall rely only on the liability of the other as his debtor in respect thereof, a proper entry in that account of the thing received or the proceeds or part of the proceeds of it, as the case may be, is a sufficient accounting therefor, and no fraudulent conversion of the thing or the proceeds or part of the proceeds of it thereby accounted for shall be deemed to have taken place.
Annotations | French
- Section 330(1)
- Essential Elements
- The actus reus requires the Crown establish that the accused had an obligation to account for or repay something (i.e., money) that they have received. The Crown must also prove the terms related to the accused’s obligation of accounting or repayment in addition to a failure to comply with those terms: R v Lazeo, 2000 BCCA 483 at paras 35-36.
- The mens rea is established by proving that the accused either had fraudulent intent or willful blindness equivalent to fraud in their failure to comply with their obligations to account or repay. This is different than carelessness or negligence; to satisfy the fraudulent nature of this offence, there must be some level of deception, trickery, or cheating: R v Pidlubny, 1978 2 CR (3d) 35 (Ont CA).
- Misappropriation of money held under direction
- 332 (1) Every one commits theft who, having received, either solely or jointly with another person, money or valuable security or a power of attorney for the sale of real or personal property, with a direction that the money or a part of it, or the proceeds or a part of the proceeds of the security or the property shall be applied to a purpose or paid to a person specified in the direction, fraudulently and contrary to the direction applies to any other purpose or pays to any other person the money or proceeds or any part of it.
- Effect of entry in account
- (2) This section does not apply where a person who receives anything mentioned in subsection (1) and the person from whom he receives it deal with each other on such terms that all money paid to the former would, in the absence of any such direction, be properly treated as an item in a debtor and creditor account between them, unless the direction is in writing.