UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1195
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AN ACT relating to theft of services. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
ď˘Section 1. KRS 514.060 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) A person is guilty of theft of services when: 4
(a) The person intentionally obtains services by deception or threat or by false 5
token or other means to avoid payment for the services which he or she knows 6
are available only for compensation; 7
(b) The person intentionally obtains wireless communications services or access 8
to services by any of the following means: 9
1. Unauthorized interception of any electronic serial number, mobile 10
identification number, personal identification number, or like identifying 11
number; 12
2. Unauthorized interception of any cellular service or personal 13
communications service as terms may be defined in 47 C.F.R. parts 22 14
and 24 respectively; 15
3. Unauthorized interception of any similar telephone service; or 16
4. Use of deception, threat, or other means to avoid payment for the 17
services which the person knows are available only for charge or 18
compensation;[ or] 19
(c) Having control over or unauthorized access to the use of the services of others 20
to which the person is not entitled, the person intentionally diverts the services 21
to the person's own benefit or the benefit of another not entitled thereto; or 22
(d) Having control of rental equipment under a written rental agreement, the 23
person: 24
1. Intentionally holds the equipment beyond the expiration of the rental 25
period without the consent of the owner of the equipment; 26
2. Intentionally deprives the owner of the equipment of its use in further 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1195
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rentals; 1
3. Intentionally refuses to pay or absconds without payment; 2
4. Fails to respond within five (5) days after receiving notice by certified 3
mail demanding return; and 4
5. Refuses to make an agreeable payment to a rental agency within thirty 5
(30) days of receipt of a late notice to a person sent by certified mail, 6
return receipt requested. 7
(2) Where compensation for services is ordinarily paid immediately upon the rendering 8
of the services, as in the case of hotels and restaurants, refusal to pay or absconding 9
without payment or offer to pay shall be prima facie evidence that the services were 10
obtained by deception as to intention to pay. 11
(3) In any prosecution for theft of gas, water, electricity, or other public service, where 12
the utility supplying the service had installed a meter or other device to record the 13
amount of service supplied, proof that: 14
(a) The meter or other device has been altered, tampered with, or bypassed in a 15
manner so as to prevent or reduce the recording thereof; or 16
(b) Service has been, after having been disconnected by the utility supplying 17
service, reconnected without authorization of the utility 18
shall be prima facie evidence of the intent to commit theft of service by the person 19
or persons obligated to pay for service supplied through the meter or other device. 20
(4) Theft of services is a Class B misdemeanor unless: 21
(a) The value of the service is five hundred dollars ($500) or more but less than 22
one thousand dollars ($1,000), in which case it is a Class A misdemeanor; 23
(b) The value of the service is one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more but less than 24
ten thousand dollars ($10,000), in which case it is a Class D felony; 25
(c) A person has three (3) or more convictions under paragraph (a) of this 26
subsection within the last five (5) years, in which case it is a Class D felony. 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1195
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The five (5) year period shall be measured from the dates on which the 1
offenses occurred for which the judgments of conviction were entered; or 2
(d) The value of the service is ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more, in which 3
case it is a Class C felony. 4
(5) If any person commits two (2) or more separate offenses of theft of services within 5
ninety (90) days, the offenses may be combined and treated as a single offense, and 6
the value of the property in each offense may be aggregated for the purpose of 7
determining the appropriate charge. 8