Larceny

The MBE rarely tests “is this larceny?” head-on; instead it hands you a fact pattern and makes you pick the single correct theft crime among larceny, embezzlement, and false pretenses. The dispositive question is what the defendant obtained and how he got it: mere custody or possession (larceny if he then carries it off trespassorily), lawful possession later converted (embezzlement), or title transferred by a lie (false pretenses). Watch the employee tell — a rank-and-file employee handling the till has only custody, so pocketing cash is larceny, not embezzlement (though a manager or officer with substantial control has true possession, making conversion embezzlement).

The classic trap is the larceny-by-trick overlap: fraud that yields only possession is still larceny (by trick), while fraud yielding title is false pretenses — students reflexively choose false pretenses whenever a lie appears. Don’t confuse the intent-to-permanently-deprive timing with robbery (which merely adds force or intimidation at the taking) or with common-law burglary’s intent-at-entry rule. Hook: custody = larceny, possession = embezzlement, title = false pretenses.