§ 534. Married person selling lands under false representations. Every married person who falsely and fraudulently represents himself or herself as competent to sell or mortgage any real estate, to the validity of which sale or mortgage the assent or concurrence of his wife or her husband is necessary, and under such representations willfully conveys or mortgages the same, is guilty of felony.

California Jurisprudence: See article False Pretenses, vol. 12, P. 478.

Legislation § 534. Enacted February 14, 1872. The code commissioners say: "Founded on the act of April 27, 1863, to prevent the fraudulent sale or encumbrance of real estate by married women (Stats. 1863, p. 750, § 1), and extended to include the husband, and to prevent fraud in the attempted disposition of the homestead." § 535. Mock auction. Every person who obtains any money or property from another, or obtains the signature of another to any written instrument, the false making of which would be forgery, by means of any false or fraudulent sale of property or pretended property, by auction, or by any of the practices known as mock auctions, is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison not exceeding three years, or in the county jail not exceeding one year, or by fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or by both such fine and imprisonment; and, in addition thereto, forfeits any license he may hold as auctioneer, and is forever disqualified from receiving a license to act as auctioneer within this state.

Auctioneers: See Pol. Code, §§ 3284 et seq.

California Jurisprudence: See article Auctions, vol. 3, p. 765. Legislation § 535. Enacted February 14, 1872; based on Field's Draft, § 627, N. Y. Pen. Code, § 574.

§ 536. False statements by brokers, etc. Penalty. Every commission merchant, broker, agent, factor, or consignee, who shall willfully and corruptly make, or cause to be made, to the principal or consignor of such commission merchant, agent, broker, factor, or consignee, a false statement as to the price obtained for any property consigned or intrusted for sale, or as to the quality or quantity of any property so consigned or intrusted, or as to any expenditures made in connection therewith, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars and not less than two hundred dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months and not less than ten days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. [Amendment approved 1909; Stats. 1909, p. 537.]

California Jurisprudence: See articles Agency, vol. 1, p. 788; Brokers, vol. 4, p. 572; Factors.

3. Amended by Stats. 1905, p. 685, changing number from 5371⁄2 to 537a; (1) omitting "shall" after "Every person who"; (2) changing (a) "obtain" to "obtains," (b) "who shall, for a legal consideration, give" to "who, for a valuable consideration, gives," and (c) "shall be guilty" to "is guilty"; (3) omitting section 2 of the act adding the section, which read, "Sec. 2. Every person willfully advertising any of such animals for purposes of copulation, or profit, as having a pedigree other than the true pedigree of such animal shall forfeit all right by law to collect pay for the services of said animal; the code commissioner saying, "Section 2 is omitted because not properly a part of the Penal Code."

§ 537b. Defrauding owners of livery-stables. Any person who obtains any livery hire or other accommodation at any livery or feed stable, kept for profit, in this state, without paying therefor, with intent to defraud the proprietor or manager thereof; or who obtains credit at any such livery or feed stable by the use of any false pretense; or who after obtaining a horse, vehicle, or other property at such livery or feed stable, willfully or maliciously abuses the same by beating, goading, overdriving or other willful or malicious conduct, or who after obtaining such horse, vehicle, or other property, shall, with intent to defraud the owner, manager or proprietor of such livery or feed stable, keep the same for a longer period, or take the same to a greater distance than contracted for; or allow a feed-bill or other charges to accumulate against such property, without paying therefor; or abandon or leave the same, is guilty of a misdemeanor. {Amendment approved 1905; Stats. 1905, p. 685.]

California Jurisprudence: See article Livery-stable and Garage Keepers.

Legislation § 537b. 1. Added by Stats. 1903, p. 157, as § 5373⁄4. 2. Amended by Stats. 1905, p. 685, merely changing the number of the section from 5374 to 537b.

§ 537c. Unauthorized use of horses, etc. Every owner, manager, proprietor, or other person, having the management, charge or control of any livery-stable, feed or boarding stable, and every person pasturing stock, who shall receive and take into his possession, charge, care or control, any horse, mare, or other animal, or any buggy, or other vehicle, belonging to any other person, to be by him kept, fed, or cared for, and who, while said horse, mare or other animal or buggy or other vehicle, is thus in his possession, charge, care or under his control, as aforesaid, shall drive, ride or use, or knowingly permit or allow any person other than the owner or other person entitled so to do, to drive, ride, or otherwise use the same, without the consent or permission of the owner thereof, or other person charged with the care, control or possession of such property, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

California Jurisprudence: See articles Animals, vol. 2, p. 20; Livery-stable and Garage Keepers.

Legislation § 537c. Added by Stats. 1909, p. 277.

§ 537d. Removing automobile subject to lien a misdemeanor. Any person who surreptitiously or by false pretenses obtains or removes from any garage or repair shop any automobile or other personal property upon which the proprietor or manager thereof would be entitled to a lien, pursuant to the provisions of section three thousand fiftyone of the Civil Code, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

California Jurisprudence: See article Livery-stable and Garage Keepers.

Legislation § 537d. Added by Stats. 1917, p. 291.

§ 5372. Fraudulent registration of cattle. Legislation § 5372. See Legislation § 537a.

§ 53734. Defrauding owners of livery-stables. Legislation § 53734. See Legislation § 537b.

§ 538. Removing mortgaged personal property. Every person, who, after mortgaging any of the property, permitted to be mortgaged by the provisions of section two thousand nine hundred fifty-five of the Civil Code, excepting locomotives, engines, rolling stock of a railroad, steamboat machinery in actual use, vessels, and livestock, vehicles (other than motor vehicles) and other migratory chattels, during the existence of such mortgage, with intent to defraud the mortgagee, his representative or assigns, takes, drives, carries away, or otherwise removes or permits the taking, driving, or carrying away, or other removal of the mortgaged property, or any part thereof, from the county where it was situate when mortgaged, without the written consent of the mortgagee.

Further encumbrance or sale. Or who sells, transfers, or in any manner further encumbers the said mortgaged property, or any part thereof, or causes the same to be sold, transferred, or further encumbered, is guilty of larceny, and is punishable accordingly; unless at or before the time of making such sale, transfer or encumbrance, such mortgagor informs the person to whom such sale, transfer, or encumbrance is made, of the existence of the prior mortgage, and also informs the prior mortgagee of the intended sale, transfer, or encumbrance, in writing, by giving the name and place of residence of the party to whom the sale, transfer or encumbrance is to be made. [Amendment approved 1923; Stats. 1923, p. 140.]

p. 120.

California Jurisprudence: See article Chattel Mortgages, vol. 5, Legislation § 538. 1. Added (in part) by Stats. 1887, p. 87, as § 537, which read: "537. Every person who, after mortgaging any

of

the property mentioned in section two thousand nine hundred and fifty-five of the Civil Code, except locomotives, engines, rollingstock of a railroad, steamboat machinery in actual use, and vessels, voluntarily removes or permits the removal of the mortgaged property from the place where it was situated at the time it was mortgaged, without the written consent of the mortgagee, with intent to deprive the mortgagee of his interest therein, is guilty of a misdemeanor."

2. Amended by Stats. 1893, p. 119 (approved March 9, 1893), to read: "537. Every person who, after mortgaging any of the property mentioned in section two thousand nine hundred and fifty-five of the Civil Code, excepting locomotives, engines, rolling-stock of a ailroad, steamboat machinery in actual use, and vessels, during the xistence of such mortgage, with the intent to defraud the mortagee, his representatives or assigns, transfers, sells, takes, drives, or carries away, or otherwise disposes of, or permits the transferring, selling, taking, driving, or carrying away, or otherwise disposing of such mortgaged property, or any part thereof, from the County where it was situated at the time it was mortgaged, without the written consent of the mortgagee, is guilty of larceny, and shall be punished accordingly."

3. Added (in part) by Stats. 1893, p. 119, as § 538 (by the same act amending § 537, quoted supra), which read: "538. Every person who, after mortgaging any of the property mentioned in section two thousand nine hundred and fifty-five of the Civil Code, excepting locomotives, engines, rolling-stock of a railroad, steamboat machinery in actual use, and vessels, during the existence of such mortgage, sells, transfers, or in any manner further encumbers the said mortgaged property, or any part thereof, or causes the same to be sold, transferred, or further encumbered, is guilty of larceny, and shall be punished accordingly; unless at or before the time of making such sale, transfer, or encumbrance, such mortgagor shall inform the person to whom such sale, transfer, or encumbrance may be made, of the existence of the prior mortgage, and shall inform the prior mortgagee of the intended sale, transfer, or encumbrance, in writing, by giving the name and place of residence of the party to whom the sale, transfer, or encumbrance is to be made."

4. Repeal by Stats. 1901, p. 466, of § 537, as amended by Stats. 1893, p. 119, and § 538 amended (p. 467) to read same as the present $538; unconstitutional. See note, § 5, ante.

5. Repeal by Stats. 1905, p. 685, of § 537, as amended by Stats. 1893, p. 119, and § 538 amended (p. 686) by the same act, the enacting paragraph reading, "Sec. 8. Section five hundred and thirtyeight of said code, as approved March 9, 1903, [1893; § 538 was not amended in 1903], is hereby amended to read as follows," this socalled repeal and amendment being in fact a combination and amendment of § 537 as amended in 1893 and § 538; the code commissioner saying in his note to § 537, "There were two sections numbered 537. The one regarding the removal of mortgaged chattels (enacted in 1893) is repealed, the matter contained in it being sufficiently provided for in § 538, infra; the other (enacted in 1899, and amended in 1903) remained in force"; and in his note to § 538 say. ing, "The amendment extends the operation of the section to cases where personal property is taken, removed, or driven from the county in which it is mortgaged with the intention of defrauding the mortgagee. The change consists in the addition of the words 'with intent to defraud the mortgagee, his representatives or assigns, takes, drives, carries away, or otherwise removes or permits the taking, driving, or carrying away, or other removal of the

mortgaged property, or any part thereof, from the county where it was situated when mortgaged, without the written consent of the mortgagee, or who.' There were two sections of this number: one, added March 9, 1893, which was amended as above set forth; the other, added March 11, 1893, which was renumbered (1905; 686) as 538a."

As amended in 1905, p. 686, the section read: "Every person who, after mortgaging any of the property mentioned in section two thousand nine hundred and fifty-five of the Civil Code, excepting locomotives, engines, rolling stock of a railroad, steamboat machinery in actual use, and vessels, during the existence of such mortgage, with intent to defraud the mortgagee, his representatives or assigns, takes, drives, carries away, or otherwise removes or permits the taking, driving, or carrying away, or other removal of the mortgaged property, or any part thereof, from the county where it was situate when mortgaged, without the written consent of the mortgagee, or who sells, transfers, or in any manner further encumbers the said mortgaged property, or any part thereof, or causes the same to be sold, transferred, or further encumbered, is guilty of larceny, and is punishable accordingly; unless at or before the time of making such sale, transfer, or encumbrance, such mortgagor informs the person to whom such sale, transfer, or encumbrance is made, of the existence of the prior mortgage, and also informs the prior mortgagee of the intended sale, transfer, or encumbrance, in writing, by giving the name and place of residence of the party to whom the sale, transfer, or encumbrance is to be made."

7. Amended by Stats. 1921, p. 97, the only change consisting in substituting the words "permitted to be mortgaged by the provisions of" for "mentioned in" at the beginning of the section. 8. Amended by Stats. 1923, p. 140, by adding after "vessel" the words "and livestock and vehicles (other than motor vehicles), and migratory chattels."

§ 538a. Misrepresentation of newspaper circulation. Every proprietor or publisher of any newspaper or periodical who shall willfully and knowingly misrepresent the circulation of such newspaper or periodical, for the purpose of securing advertising or other patronage, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor. [Amendment approved 1905; Stats. 1905, p. 686.]

California Jurisprudence: See article Newspapers.

Legislation § 538a. 1. Added by Stats. 1893, p. 132, as § 538.

2. Amendment by Stats. 1901, p. 467, the code commissioners designating the section as 5382 and renumbering it 538a; unconstitutional. See note, § 5, ante.

3. Amended by Stats. 1905, p. 686, merely changing the number from 538 to 538a.

§ 538b. Wearing badge of secret society unless entitled to. Any person who willfully wears the badge lapel-button, rosette, or other recognized and established insignia of any secret society, order, or organization, or uses the same to obtain aid or assistance within this state, unless entitled to wear or use the same, under the constitution, by-laws, or