State v. Hallum, 246 N.C. App. 658 (Apr. 5, 2016)

The trial court did not err by denying the defendant’s motion to dismiss a charge of obtaining property by false pretenses. The indictment alleged that the defendant obtained US currency by selling to a company named BIMCO electrical wire that was falsely represented not to have been stolen. The defendant argued only that there was insufficient evidence that his false representation in fact deceived any BIMCO employee. He argued that the evidence showed that BIMCO employees were indifferent to legal ownership of scrap metal purchased by them and that they employed a “nod and wink system” in which no actual deception occurred. However, the evidence included paperwork signed by the defendant representing that he was the lawful owner of the materials sold and showed that based on his representation, BIMCO paid him for the materials. From this evidence, it logically follows that BIMCO was in fact deceived. Any conflict in the evidence was for the jury to decide.