§ 190.65 Scheme to defraud in the first degree.\n 1. A person is guilty of a scheme to defraud in the first degree when\nhe or she: (a) engages in a scheme constituting a systematic ongoing\ncourse of conduct with intent to defraud ten or more persons or to\nobtain property from ten or more persons by false or fraudulent\npretenses, representations or promises, and so obtains property from one\nor more of such persons; or (b) engages in a scheme constituting a\nsystematic ongoing course of conduct with intent to defraud more than\none person or to obtain property from more than one person by false or\nfraudulent pretenses, representations or promises, and so obtains\nproperty with a value in excess of one thousand dollars from one or more\nsuch persons; or (c) engages in a scheme constituting a systematic\nongoing course of conduct with intent to defraud more than one person,\nmore than one of whom is a vulnerable elderly person as defined in\nsubdivision three of section 260.31 of this chapter or to obtain\nproperty from more than one person, more than one of whom is a\nvulnerable elderly person as defined in subdivision three of section\n260.31 of this chapter, by false or fraudulent pretenses,\nrepresentations or promises, and so obtains property from one or more\nsuch persons; or (d) engages in a systematic ongoing course of conduct,\nwith intent to defraud more than one person by false or fraudulent\npretenses, representations or promises, by disposing of solid waste as\ndefined in section 27-0701 of the environmental conservation law on such\npersons' property, and so damages the property of one or more of such\npersons in an amount in excess of one thousand dollars.\n 2. In any prosecution under this section, it shall be necessary to\nprove the identity of at least one person from whom the defendant so\nobtained property, but it shall not be necessary to prove the identity\nof any other intended victim, provided that in any prosecution under\nparagraph (c) of subdivision one of this section, it shall be necessary\nto prove the identity of at least one such vulnerable elderly person as\ndefined in subdivision three of section 260.31 of this chapter.\n 3. In any prosecution under paragraph (d) of subdivision one of this\nsection, it shall be necessary to prove the identity of at least one\nperson on whose property the defendant fraudulently disposed of solid\nwaste pursuant to such paragraph (d), but it shall not be necessary to\nprove the identity of any other victim or intended victim.\n Scheme to defraud in the first degree is a class E felony.\n
N.Y. Penal Law § 190.65
Scheme to defraud in the first degree
Applied in 12 court decisions — leading case 71 Misc. 3d 127 - People v. Smith (Marie) (2021)
Most recently applied in Matter of Boldi (April 2025)
2021-01-08
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Official source: NYS Open Legislation (New York State Senate). Reproduced from public-domain New York statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.