VA · jury_instructions
Va. Model Jury Instr. Crim. No. 27.150
Obtaining Money or Property by False Pretense
The defendant is charged with the crime of obtaining [money; property; a gift certificate] by false
pretenses. The Commonwealth must prove beyond a reasonable doubt each of the following
elements of that crime:
(1) That the defendant made a false representation of a past event or existing fact; and
(2) When the false representation was made, the defendant intended to defraud (name of person);
and
(3) That because of the false representation, the defendant obtained possession [and title] of
[money; property; a gift certificate] from (name of person); and
(4) That the [money; property; gift certificate] obtained was worth $1,000 or more.
If you find that the Commonwealth has proved beyond a reasonable doubt each of the above
elements of the crime as charged, then you shall find the defendant guilty [but you shall not fix the
punishment until your verdict has been returned and further evidence has been heard by you].
If you find from the evidence that the Commonwealth has proved beyond a reasonable doubt
each of the first three elements of the crime as charged, but has not proved beyond a reasonable
doubt that such property was $1,000 or more, and if you find beyond a reasonable doubt that such
property was of some value (there need be no proof of a minimum or specific value), then you shall
find the defendant guilty of the misdemeanor of larceny by false pretenses [but you shall not fix
the punishment until your verdict has been returned and further evidence has been heard by you].
If you find that the Commonwealth has failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt any one or
more of the elements of the crime, then you shall find the defendant not guilty.
History
Virginia Model Jury Instructions – Criminal, Release 26, October 2025. The unannotated set, posted by the Supreme Court of Virginia at vacourts.gov; the book states that it is made available with the permission of the publisher, Matthew Bender & Company, Inc.
Provenance
- Source
- vacourts.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-11
- Edition
- crim-2025-10-01
- Content hash
973489c3c26a4b616fe4b5d80e544ff66c116fb08ba8445691dc1135d3984285
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