Following a bench trial, Mark Lindsay was convicted of seven counts of theft by receiving stolen property. The State proved that Lindsay’s mistress had embezzled money and used it to buy tangible goods that she later gave him, but it did not prove that the goods themselves were the items taken from the victim. The Court of Appeals treated the issue as one of first impression and applied the plain language of Georgia’s theft-by-receiving statute. The statute requires proof that the defendant received, disposed of, or retained property that was stolen; property purchased with stolen money is not necessarily the same property taken from the owner. Because criminal statutes must be strictly construed and the State had not proved an essential element of the charged offenses, the court reversed all seven convictions. Lindsay’s remaining claims concerning speedy trial, counsel, and sentencing became moot. The court declined to expand the statute through judicial construction merely because the conduct appeared blameworthy. The chief judge and another judge concurred.