People v. Whight
California Court of Appeal for the Third District
43 Cal.Rptr.2d 163 (1995)
Whight (defendant) opened a checking account, overdrew it, and had it closed by the bank, but discovered his ATM card still worked at Safeway, which allowed cash back on ATM purchases. Safeway's system checked with Wells Fargo before approving transactions, but if Wells Fargo couldn't reach Whight's bank, it issued Safeway a 'stand-in' code that simply approved the transaction without verifying the card. Exploiting a system error that repeatedly triggered these stand-in codes, Whight used his card at four Safeway stores and withdrew over $19,000 that he was not entitled to. Whight was convicted of grand theft by false pretenses, and he appealed, arguing Safeway relied on Wells Fargo's verification rather than on his own misrepresentation.
Whether an owner is deemed to have passed title in reliance on a defendant's misrepresentation for purposes of false pretenses, even where the owner also undertook its own investigation of the defendant's claim.