Fairfax False Pretenses Defense Attorney — Virginia Code § 18.2-178
Quick answer: Obtaining money or property by false pretenses is charged under Virginia Code § 18.2-178. It is deemed larceny, so the punishment follows value: a Class 1 misdemeanor below $1,000, grand larceny at $1,000 or more under § 18.2-95. The one exception is the signature prong — obtaining a person’s signature by false pretense is a Class 4 felony on its own. The most important rule in these cases: a false pretense must be a misrepresentation of a past or existing fact. A broken promise about the future is a contract dispute, not a crime. Attorney Sheryl Shane brings more than 31 years of criminal defense experience to these cases across Northern Virginia and is available 24/7 at (703) 582-8119.
When a Business Deal Becomes a Criminal Charge
Most people charged under this statute did not think they were committing a crime. They thought they were in a disagreement about money.
A deposit was taken and the work was not finished. A vehicle was sold and the buyer felt misled. An investment did not return what the investor expected. A loan between friends went unpaid. Somewhere along the way, the other side stopped calling it a dispute and started calling it fraud — and a detective got involved.
Fraud charges land differently than other charges. An assault charge says you lost your temper. A false pretenses charge says you are dishonest. For business owners, contractors, and anyone holding a professional license or a security clearance, that distinction is the whole problem.
An arrest is not a conviction. And in these cases in particular, the line between a failed transaction and a criminal one is narrower and more technical than most people — including some complaining witnesses — assume.
What Virginia Law Actually Covers — § 18.2-178
The statute makes it a crime to obtain money, a gift certificate, or other property that may be the subject of larceny, from another person, by any false pretense or token, with intent to defraud.
What the Commonwealth Must Prove
Virginia courts require four things:
- An intent to defraud
- Actual fraud — someone genuinely parted with money or property
- Use of a false pretense to accomplish it
- A causal link — the false pretense is what induced the other person to hand the property over
That fourth element does more work than people expect. If the buyer relied on their own inspection, a third party’s referral, or their own judgment rather than on the statement charged, the causal chain breaks.
The Rule That Decides Most of These Cases
A false pretense must be a misrepresentation of a past or existing fact. A promise about the future is not enough, even if the promise is broken.
Telling a homeowner “I will finish your deck by October” and then failing to finish it is a broken promise. It is a breach of contract, and it belongs in civil court.
Telling that same homeowner “I am a licensed contractor” when you are not, or “I have already bought your materials” when you have not, is a statement about something that is either true or false right now. That is what the statute reaches.
The representation can be spoken, written, or implied by conduct. But it has to be about a fact, and the intent to defraud has to exist at the time the property is obtained — not developed later when a business ran into trouble.
Penalties
Because false pretenses is deemed larceny, the punishment follows value:
- $1,000 or more — grand larceny under § 18.2-95: one to twenty years, or at the discretion of the court or jury, up to twelve months in jail and a fine up to $2,500, either or both
- Less than $1,000 — a Class 1 misdemeanor: up to twelve months in jail and a fine up to $2,500, either or both
Two provisions catch people off guard.
The signature prong. Obtaining a person’s signature to a writing by false pretense, where the false making of that writing would be forgery, is a Class 4 felony — two to ten years and a fine up to $100,000, regardless of the amount involved. That is considerably more serious than the value-based offense, and it is easy to miss on a warrant.
Venue is unusually broad. Under § 18.2-178(B), the case may be tried where any act in furtherance of the offense occurred, or where the accused resided at the time. A transaction that touched Virginia only briefly can still be prosecuted here.
Why the Charge Gets Filed — and Where It Gets Weak
These cases usually begin with a complaining witness who is genuinely out money and genuinely convinced they were lied to. That conviction is sincere. It is also not the legal standard.
Where these prosecutions weaken is consistent: whether the statement charged was a fact or a forecast; whether it was true when it was made, even if circumstances changed later; whether the alleged victim actually relied on it; whether intent to defraud existed at the outset rather than forming after a deal went bad; and how the property was valued, since the $1,000 line is often close.
Financial records show that money moved. They rarely explain why. A transfer between accounts may be legitimate compensation. A payment may reimburse an expense. Documents establish what happened; the surrounding circumstances establish why, and that is where these cases are actually decided.
Civil Dispute or Criminal Charge
Virginia recognizes a real difference between a broken promise and a fraudulent representation.
Businesses fail. Contracts are breached. Projects run late. Loans go unpaid. Customers become dissatisfied. Those circumstances create civil liability, and sometimes a lawsuit is the honest answer to what happened.
Prosecutors may still pursue charges when they believe the evidence shows an intent to deceive that existed from the beginning of the transaction. Determining where that line falls requires examining the facts — not the label either side puts on them.
What You Are Facing
At $1,000 or more this is a felony with substantial exposure, and restitution is commonly ordered on top of any sentence. The signature prong is a felony regardless of amount.
The consequences outside the courtroom are often the greater concern. Fraud offenses involve dishonesty and are generally treated as crimes involving moral turpitude — which speaks directly to truthfulness and can affect employment, professional licensing, and security clearances in a way an ordinary charge does not. In Northern Virginia, where many clients hold clearances or work for federal agencies and contractors, this is frequently the first subject I discuss with clients. For anyone who is not a U.S. citizen, these offenses can carry significant immigration consequences, and those should be addressed before any plea is entered.
How I Defend These Cases
Every case turns on its own facts, but the questions that tend to matter here include:
- Fact or promise? The first question I ask. If the statement was about future performance, the statute may not reach it at all.
- Was it true when made? A representation about finances or capability that was accurate in March is not fraudulent because circumstances changed by June.
- Did the alleged victim actually rely on it? Without the causal link, the element fails.
- When did intent form? It must exist when the property is obtained. A venture that collapsed afterward is not proof of intent at the outset.
- Value. Because value sets the felony line, and the $1,000 threshold is frequently close, how the amount was calculated deserves scrutiny.
- Is this a civil matter? Sometimes the honest answer is that the complaining party has a lawsuit rather than a prosecution.
- Documents in context. An email or invoice read in isolation can look damaging and mean something entirely different within the full exchange.
I cannot promise an outcome, and I never will. What I can do is take the case apart element by element and give you an honest assessment of where it stands.
Why It Matters Who Handles Your Case
When you hire my office, you work directly with me. I review the evidence — the contracts, bank records, invoices, and communications these cases depend on — meet with you, and handle the matter from the first conversation through its conclusion. After more than 31 years of criminal defense, I know how financial cases tend to move and how quickly a business dispute can be recast as a criminal one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is false pretenses a felony in Virginia?
It depends on value. Because § 18.2-178 is deemed larceny, obtaining $1,000 or more is grand larceny — a felony under § 18.2-95. Below $1,000 it is a Class 1 misdemeanor. The exception is the signature prong: obtaining a person’s signature to a writing by false pretense is a Class 4 felony regardless of amount. Be cautious of pages that describe the offense as always a felony.
Isn’t this just a business dispute?
Sometimes it is. Virginia distinguishes a broken promise from a fraudulent representation, and many failed transactions belong in civil court. The question is whether the evidence shows an intent to deceive at the outset of the deal, which is a factual question that deserves examination rather than assumption.
I promised to finish the work and I didn’t. Is that false pretenses?
Generally not, standing alone. A false pretense must misrepresent a past or existing fact. A promise about future performance that goes unfulfilled is ordinarily a contract matter. A statement about something presently true or false — your license status, what you had already purchased, who you were — is different.
Does repaying the money end the case?
Not automatically. Restitution can matter a great deal in how a case is resolved, but repayment does not eliminate criminal liability, and not having repaid does not decide the outcome either.
Will a conviction affect my job, clearance, or immigration status?
It can. Fraud offenses involve dishonesty and are generally treated as crimes involving moral turpitude, which can affect employment, professional licensing, security clearances, and immigration status. These concerns should be discussed early, before any plea is entered.
Talk to Me About Your Case
If you have been charged with obtaining money or property by false pretenses (Virginia Code § 18.2-178) — whether on its own or alongside a forgery, check, or credit card count — you do not have to sort it out alone.
These cases are built on documents, and documents are best gathered and reviewed early, while records still exist and memories are fresh. The earliest decisions often carry the most weight. If you would like to discuss your situation, call me at (703) 582-8119 or contact my office for a confidential consultation. Where a forged or worthless check is part of the transaction, see also my page on check theft, forgery and bad checks, and for how these charges fit alongside other theft offenses, my overview of theft and larceny defense.
This page is part of the broader cluster: for the full picture, see my fraud defense overview.
About the Attorney: Sheryl Shane
Sheryl Shane is the founder of Virginia Criminal Attorney, a Fairfax criminal defense attorney who has practiced law since 1994 and has run a boutique, sole-practitioner practice in Fairfax since 2000. She earned her B.A. from Ohio University and her J.D. from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Michigan, was licensed to practice law in Ohio in 1994 and has been licensed in Virginia since 2000, and is a member of the Fairfax Bar Association and the Arlington County Bar Association. A former arbitration judge in Ohio and a court-appointed Guardian ad Litem in Virginia, she personally handles every case she takes — from the first consultation through final resolution — and her office sits directly across from the Fairfax County Courthouse.