In People v. Werner (1940) 16 Cal.2d 216, the court reversed defendant's conviction for attempted theft by false pretenses on the ground that when the "victim" handed over his money to the defendant he was already aware of the defendant's scheme and had contacted the police. The victim, acting in concert with the police, voluntarily handed over his property to the defendant so the police could make an arrest. The court stated: "We are satisfied that there cannot be a theft or an attempted theft of a person's property when voluntarily and without compulsion of any sort, and uninfluenced by any false or fraudulent representations, he actively hands it over to the alleged thief for the purpose of apprehending him as a thief or as an attempted thief--however reprehensible the latter's intent may be--for under such circumstances the essential element of lack of consent is missing." (People v. Werner, 16 Cal.2d at page 225.)