Milstein

Appellant Leonard Reubin Milstein appeals his conviction following a plea of no contest to one count of conspiracy to defraud by false pretenses or false promises in violation of Penal Code section 182, subdivision (a)(4). 1 The sole issue on appeal is whether a violation of section 182, subdivision (a)(4) is subject to the three-year statute of limitations in section 801 for criminal conspiracies in general or to the four-year statute of limitations in sections 801.5 and 803, subdivision (c) for felony offenses which have fraud as a material element of the crime. We conclude that the three-year statute of limitations applies to the charged offense of conspiracy to defraud by false pretenses or false promises. Because it is undisputed that the prosecution of the offense was not commenced within three years of the last overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy, it was time-barred. Milstein’s conspiracy conviction must therefore be reversed.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

I. Factual Background

This criminal action arose from an alleged fraudulent scheme in which a magazine called American Justice was distributed free to jails and prisons in Southern…