State v. Buchanan, ___ N.C. App. ___, 821 S.E.2d 890 (Nov. 6, 2018)

The trial court committed plain error with respect to its obtaining property by false pretenses instructions. The case was before the court on certification from the state Supreme Court for consideration of whether the trial court committed plain error by failing to instruct the jury that it could not convict the defendant of obtaining property by false pretenses and attempting to obtain property by false pretense because such a verdict would violate the “single taking rule.” The defendant was indicted for two counts of false pretenses for signing a bank check fraud/forgery affidavit disputing three checks from his account totaling $900. In fact, the defendant pre-signed the checks, gave them to the mother of his daughter, and authorized her to use them for their child’s care. Based on the defendant’s representation in the affidavit, the bank gave him a temporary credit for one of the three checks (in the amount of $600) but denied him credit for the two other checks. The defendant was convicted of obtaining property by false pretenses for the $600 provisional credit and of attempting to obtain property by false pretenses for the two other checks. Because the defendant did not object to the instructions at trial, plain error applied. Here, plain error occurred. The defendant submitted one affidavit disputing three checks. The submission of the affidavit is the one act, or one false representation, for which the defendant was charged. Therefore there was only a single act or taking under the “single taking rule,” which prevents the defendant from being charged or convicted multiple times for a single continuous act or transaction.