Commonwealth v. Mitchneck, 130 Pa. Super. 433, 198 A. 463 (1938),Commonwealth v. Mitchneck, 130 Pa. Super. 433; 198 A. 463 (1938). is a criminal case involving the meaning of theft and ownership.Criminal Law - Cases and Materials, 7th ed. 2012, Wolters Kluwer Law & Business; John Kaplan, Robert Weisberg, Guyora Binder, , Mitchneck operated a coal mine. Mitchneck's employees signed orders directing Mitchneck to deduct amounts from their wages to pay their bills at a store. Mitchneck did not pay their bills. Mitchneck was convicted of fraudulent conversion of the employee's money.
The Superior Court of Pennsylvania reversed the conviction and ordered acquittal. The court found that although Mitchneck owed money to the employees, any money held by Mitchneck (if it ever existed) did not yet belong to the employees, since it never entered into their hands in order to transfer ownership. The court held that criminal court cannot be used as a substitute for civil court to collect a debt.
The court wrote:
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