I couldn’t find anything in the Maryland penal code on theft that outlines conversion as a criminal matter. Like many jurisdictions, conversion appears to be a tort in Maryland(only a civil matter). However, the location of the offending party may control on this matter. Take Texas, my home state, as an example.

A conversion of personal property occurs upon the unauthorized and wrongful assumption and exercise of dominion and control over the personal property of another to the exclusion of, or inconsistent with, the owner's rights. Pipes v. Hemingway, 358 S.W.3d 438, 449-50 (Tex. App.--Dallas 2012, no pet.). There is a common law claim for conversion as well as a Texas statutory cause of action.

Common Law Civil Conversion. There are four elements to the claim: (1) Plaintiff owned, had legal possession of, or was entitled to possession of the property; (2) Defendant assumed and exercised dominion and control over the property in an unlawful and unauthorized manner, to the exclusion of and inconsistent with plaintiff's rights; (3) Plaintiff made a demand for the property; (4) Defendant refused to return the property. Apple Imports, Inc. v. Koole, 945 S.W.2d 895, 899 (Tex. App.--Austin 1997, writ denied); see also Whitaker v. Bank of El Paso, 850 S.W.2d 757, 760 (Tex. App.--El Paso 1993, no writ). Conversion of intangible property is limited to cases "where the underlying intangible right has been merged into a document." Neles-Jamesbury, Inc. v. Bill's Valves, 974 F. Supp. 979, 982, (S.D. Tex. 1997). The limitations period for a claim of conversion is two years. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 16.003(a).

In Texas, conversion is the civil/tort side of larceny.