can I get in trouble for this? Is it lawful?

[Art Vandelay]

The statute of limitations could be between 1 and 3 years, depending on where you live or where the company is that was stolen from.

You are wrong in your attitude of "finding" versus "stealing". If you have your PC stolen, and some innocent person down the line receives it as a gift, buys it, or just finds it lying around, is it not yours anymore because it left your custody, or do you want compensation for your loss?

The fines for this can be hefty; jail is not probable since this will probably be pursued as a civil suit and not a criminal case. What they did to trap you is not illegal and is done all the time.

All you can do to protect yourself if they sue you (and they are doing this more and more these days) is to have your attorney standing by with your facts; hopefully he can get them to leave you alone or get it settled for much less than they are suing for.