UCMJ Article 121 Larceny vs Article 134 Wrongful Appropriation: Permanent Taking vs Temporary Taking
On this page: 6 sections
Wrongful appropriation is not an Article 134 offense. It is Article 121(a)(2), written into the same article as larceny, and it has no Article 134 terminal element. The Manual for Courts-Martial states the whole difference briefly: wrongful appropriation requires an intent to deprive or appropriate only temporarily, where larceny requires a permanent intent, and “In all other respects wrongful appropriation and larceny are identical” (MCM, Part IV, ¶ 64.c(2)(a)).
Article 121
(a) Any person subject to this chapter who wrongfully takes, obtains, or withholds, by any means, from the possession of the owner or of any other person any money, personal property, or article of value of any kind … (1) with intent permanently to deprive or defraud another person of the use and benefit of property or to appropriate it to his own use or the use of any person other than the owner, steals that property and is guilty of larceny; or (2) with intent temporarily to deprive or defraud another person of the use and benefit of property or to appropriate it to his own use or the use of any person other than the owner, is guilty of wrongful appropriation.
Source: 10 U.S.C. § 921(a) (Article 121).
The shared elements
Both offenses require a wrongful taking, obtaining, or withholding of property from the possession of the owner or any other person, ownership by a certain person, and some value (¶ 64.b). The Manual’s explanation of those shared parts (¶ 64.c(1)):
- Three ways to commit it. Taking, obtaining (which absorbs the former crime of obtaining by false pretense), and withholding (which absorbs embezzlement).
- Any movement or dominion over the property is enough with the required intent; no physical carrying away is needed. Having another’s funds transferred to one’s own account qualifies.
- Withholding can arise from failing to return, account for, or deliver property when due, or from using it in a way the owner did not authorize, even if it was first acquired lawfully.
- Owner means whoever had the superior right to possession at the time, and “any other person” includes even someone who had stolen the property.
- Wrongfulness. A taking or withholding is ordinarily wrongful if done without consent; an obtaining is wrongful if by false pretense.
The intent that separates them
Larceny requires an intent to steal: to permanently deprive or defraud, or to permanently appropriate (¶ 64.c(1)(f)(i)). Several rules follow:
- An intent to steal formed after an innocent taking is enough if the property is then wrongfully withheld with that intent. The Manual’s example is a renter who later decides to keep a rented vehicle.
- Intent may be inferred from circumstances: secretly taking, hiding, and denying knowledge points toward an intent to steal; taking openly and returning tends to negate it; selling the property can show it.
- An intent to pay for or replace the property is not a defense. Once a larceny is complete, returning the property or paying for it is no defense either.
- Taking property “as a joke or ‘to teach the owner a lesson'” is not a defense, but if the accused intended to return it, the offense is wrongful appropriation, not larceny.
- Taking money with intent to return an equivalent amount is not larceny, though it may be wrongful appropriation.
Wrongful appropriation requires an intent to deprive or appropriate only temporarily. The Manual’s examples (¶ 64.c(2)(b)):
- taking another’s car without permission to drive a short distance and then return it;
- obtaining a service weapon by falsely claiming to be going on guard duty, intending to use it on a hunting trip and return it;
- deviating from an assigned route in a government vehicle to visit a friend and then returning the vehicle to its lawful use.
“An inadvertent exercise of control over the property of another will not result in wrongful appropriation,” as when a borrowed boat is returned late because it ran aground.
How the facts sort
| Larceny, 121(a)(1) | Wrongful appropriation, 121(a)(2) | |
|---|---|---|
| Intent | Permanent deprivation or appropriation | Temporary deprivation or appropriation |
| Return of the property | No defense once the larceny is complete | Intended return is what defines the offense |
| Joke or "lesson" taking | No defense if the intent was permanent | Fits if the accused intended to return the property |
| Terminal element | None | None |
For example, a service member who takes a roommate’s gaming console, hides it in a car trunk, and denies knowing where it is, raises larceny, because hiding and denial support an inference of intent to steal. Borrowing the console without asking for a weekend and putting it back Monday in plain view points the other way: the temporary intent fits wrongful appropriation. Intent is proved circumstantially, and the markers the Manual names are secrecy, concealment, denial, open use, and return (¶ 64.c(1)(f)(ii)).
Maximum punishments
| Offense | Maximum (MCM, Part IV, ¶ 64.d) |
|---|---|
| Larceny, $1,000 or less | Bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 1 year |
| Larceny of military property worth more than $1,000, or of any military motor vehicle, aircraft, vessel, firearm, or explosive | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 10 years |
| Larceny of other property worth more than $1,000, or of any other motor vehicle, aircraft, vessel, firearm, or explosive | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 5 years |
| Wrongful appropriation, $1,000 or less | Confinement for 3 months and forfeiture of two-thirds pay per month for 3 months |
| Wrongful appropriation, more than $1,000 | Bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 1 year |
| Wrongful appropriation of any motor vehicle, aircraft, vessel, firearm, or explosive, or of military property worth more than $1,000 | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 2 years |
Military property, for these maximums, is property “owned, held, or used by one of the armed forces” (¶ 64.c(1)(h)). Value is a question of fact; government items can be valued from official price lists, and other property by legitimate market value at the time and place of the theft (¶ 64.c(1)(g)). Where every finding of guilty is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, the military judge determines the sentence in a general or special court-martial, other than in a capital case (10 U.S.C. § 853(b)(1)).
Sources
- 10 U.S.C. § 921, larceny and wrongful appropriation (Article 121)
- 10 U.S.C. § 853, findings and sentencing (Article 53)
- Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 edition), Part IV, ¶ 64.
A general explanation of Article 121; it does not evaluate any taking, loan, or missing item. This page reflects the UCMJ as amended through Public Law 119-60 (December 18, 2025) and the Manual for Courts-Martial (2024 edition) as amended by Executive Order 14130.