Oklahoma Criminal Law
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In Oklahoma pawnshops are required to obtain a declaration of ownership from a seller or “pledgor” on all purchase and pawn transactions and in that declaration of ownership Oklahoma law requires the seller or “pledgor” to state how long he or she has owned the property.
If the seller or “pledgor” claims they own the property when they do not or if they lie about how long they have owned the property, they can be charged with False Declaration of Ownership. This statute was written to make it easy to prosecute. This statute was written to catch people who pawn stolen property. The state does not have to prove that someone knew the property was stolen, only that they made a false declaration when selling or pawning the property. Most people violate this law by claiming they have owned the property longer than they have. For example, if an item was stolen a week before it was pawned and the person who pawned the item claims they have owned it for six (6) months, it will be easy for the prosecution to prove the case against them and the prosecutor does not have to prove that the person knew the property was stolen.
DO NOT PAWN ITEMS FOR OTHER PEOPLE, many people have found themselves charged with False Declaration of Ownership, because they pawned something for someone that they knew who told them they did not have an ID, but the item being pawned was rightfully theirs.
Many people are shocked to learn that pawnbrokers report to law enforcement a list of the items the pawn or purchase. Title 59 O.S. § 1515 reads as follows:
A. Any pawnbroker shall make available a copy or report within two (2) days of any buy or pawn transaction to the local law enforcement agency of the municipality or other political subdivision in which the pawnshop is located; provided, merchandise bought on invoice from a manufacturer or wholesaler with an established place of business is exempt from this reporting requirement. However, such invoice shall be shown upon request to the Administrator or his duly authorized representative or any authorized peace officer. The pawnbroker may provide the transaction report to the local law enforcement agency by either electronically reporting the information in the transaction report to an electronic database accessible only by law enforcement agencies or by reporting a physical copy of the transaction report directly to the law enforcement agency. The transaction report shall include:
1. The name and address of the pawnshop;
2. The name, address, race, sex, weight, height, date of birth and either identification number of the seller or pledger as verified by either a state-issued identification card, driver's license or federal government-issued identification card or by readable fingerprint of right or left index finger on the back of the pawn or buy transaction copy to be retained for the pawnbroker's record;
3. The transaction number for the buy or pawn transaction;
4. The date and time of the transaction;
5. The manufacturer of the item;
6. A description of the item; and
7. The serial number and model number where available and any other identifying markings.
I have represented many people over the years that thought they were helping out a friend or an acquaintance and ended up facing felony charges for False Declaration of Ownership. Do not pawn things for others and never lie on the declaration of ownership form.
The punishment for False Declaration of Ownership can either be a misdemeanor or a felony depending on whether the item is valued below or above $1,000, see Title 59 O.S. § 1512.