Credit Card Fraud in New Jersey

N.J.S.A. 2C:21-6 · Fraud & White Collar Offenses

What the law says

The section prohibits fraud involving the procurement, possession, making, sale, signing, and use of credit cards, as well as the fraudulent furnishing or receipt of money, goods, services, or other value. It also prohibits possessing certain incomplete credit cards or card-making equipment and knowingly using or dealing in counterfeit, stolen, lost, or fraudulently obtained cards.

This is an indictable crime. It's prosecuted in the Superior Court, Criminal Part, in the county where it allegedly happened, usually after grand jury review. First-time defendants may be eligible for Pretrial Intervention (PTI).

What the State must prove

To convict, the prosecutor must prove each element beyond a reasonable doubt. Under N.J.S.A. 2C:21-6, that means:

• Making or causing a false written statement about one’s own or another person’s identity or financial condition, knowing it is false and intending it to be relied on, to procure issuance of a credit card.
• Taking or obtaining a credit card without the cardholder’s consent; knowingly receiving a card taken without consent with intent to use, sell, or transfer it; retaining a card known to have been lost, mislaid, or mistakenly delivered with that intent; selling or buying a card from someone other than the issuer; or obtaining control of a card as security for debt with intent to defraud.
• With intent to defraud, falsely making or falsely embossing a purported credit card, uttering such a card, or—if not the cardholder or someone authorized by the cardholder—signing a card with intent to defraud.
• With intent to defraud, using a card obtained or retained in violation of subsection c., or one known to be forged, expired, or revoked, to obtain value; or obtaining value by falsely representing, without the cardholder’s consent, that one is the holder of a specified card, or by claiming to hold a card that was never issued.
• An issuer-authorized person, agent, or employee furnishing value with intent to defraud the issuer or cardholder upon presentation of a card obtained or retained in violation of subsection c., or one known to be forged, expired, or revoked; or an issuer-authorized person failing to furnish value that the person represented in writing to the issuer had been furnished.
• Possessing two or more incomplete credit cards, if not the cardholder, with intent to complete them without the issuer’s consent; or knowingly possessing machinery, plates, or another contrivance designed to reproduce purported credit cards of an issuer that has not consented to their preparation.
• Receiving value obtained in violation of subsection d. while knowing or believing it was so obtained; or knowingly using a counterfeit, fictitious, altered, forged, lost, stolen, or fraudulently obtained card to obtain value, or furnishing, acquiring, or using an actual or fictitious card with unlawful or fraudulent intent, including together with cardholder names or other account information.

How the charge is graded

• A crime of the fourth degree: making or causing a false written statement to procure issuance of a credit card; taking or obtaining a credit card without consent, or knowingly receiving one taken without consent with intent to use, sell, or transfer it; receiving and retaining a card known to have been lost, mislaid, or delivered under a mistake with intent to use, sell, or transfer it; selling a credit card or buying one from someone other than the issuer; obtaining control over a credit card as security for debt with intent to defraud; signing a credit card as specified in subsection c.(6); failing to furnish value represented in writing to the issuer as furnished; or receiving value knowing or believing it was obtained in violation of subsection d.
• A third degree offense: falsely making or falsely embossing a purported credit card, or uttering such a credit card, with the intent to defraud specified in subsection c.(5).
• A crime of the third degree: using a credit card as specified in subsection d. with intent to defraud, or obtaining value through the specified false representations; furnishing value as specified in subsection e.(1) with intent to defraud; possessing two or more incomplete credit cards with intent to complete them without the issuer’s consent, or possessing the specified card-reproducing equipment with knowledge of its character; or engaging in the conduct specified in subsection h.

General sentencing ranges

Unless a statute sets a different penalty, New Jersey's general sentencing laws (N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6, 2C:43-8, and 2C:43-3) set these maximums:

Other rules that can matter

• A cardholder is the person or organization named on the face of a credit card to whom or for whose benefit the issuer issued it. A credit card includes any tangible or intangible instrument or device issued with or without a fee that can be used, alone or with another means of account access, to obtain money, goods, services, or anything else of value on credit; the definition includes credit cards, credit plates, account numbers, and other means of account access.
• An expired credit card is no longer valid because the term shown on it or on documentation provided by the issuer has elapsed. A revoked credit card is no longer valid because the issuer suspended or terminated permission to use it. An issuer is the business organization or financial institution issuing the card or its duly authorized agent. “Receives” or “receiving” means acquiring possession or control, or accepting a credit card as security for a loan.
• Taking a credit card without consent includes obtaining it by conduct defined and prescribed in Chapter 20 of Title 2C, Theft and Related Offenses.
• A person with two or more credit cards issued in the names of other persons, or two or more stolen credit cards, is presumed to have violated subsection c.(1). A person other than the purported issuer possessing two or more falsely made or falsely embossed credit cards is presumed to have violated subsection c.(5). A person possessing two or more credit cards signed as specified in subsection c.(6) is presumed to have violated that paragraph.
• Knowledge of revocation is presumed to have been received by a cardholder four days after mailing by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, to the address on the card or the cardholder’s last known address; if that address is more than 500 miles from the place of mailing, the notice is sent by air mail. If the address is outside the United States, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Canal Zone and Canada, receipt is presumed 10 days after mailing by registered or certified mail.
• A person obtaining at a discount price a ticket issued by an airline, railroad, steamship, or other transportation company, where the ticket was acquired in violation of subsection d., is presumed to know it was acquired under circumstances constituting a violation of subsection d. if the person made no reasonable inquiry to ascertain that the seller had a legal right to possess it.
• A person falsely makes a credit card by making or drawing, in whole or in part, an instrument purporting to be a named issuer’s card that the issuer did not authorize, or by altering a validly issued card. A person falsely embosses a card by adding, without the named issuer’s authorization, any matter other than the cardholder’s signature that the issuer requires on the card before use.
• A credit card is incomplete if any matter other than the cardholder’s signature that the issuer requires before the card can be used has not yet been stamped, embossed, imprinted, or written on it.

Common defense strategies

Every case turns on its facts, but defenses we often explore include:

• Lack of intent to defraud, as opposed to a business dispute or honest mistake
• Challenging loss calculations that drive the degree of the charge
• Document, bank-record, and electronic-evidence review with forensic accountants
• Early negotiation and restitution that can keep a case out of state prison

What to do right now

1. Don't discuss the facts with police, the alleged victim, or anyone on a jail phone or social media.
2. Write down everything you remember, including names, times, and locations.
3. Keep every document you received, such as the complaint, summons, and release conditions.
4. Follow all release and no-contact conditions exactly.
5. Call a New Jersey criminal defense lawyer before your first court date.

How we help

Edward G. Appel has defended New Jersey clients since 1988 in municipal and Superior Courts in all 21 counties. We review the discovery, look for weaknesses in the State's case, file motions where they're warranted, and push for dismissals, downgrades, or diversion before you face a trial. Call 856-856-2373 for a free, confidential consultation about your Credit Card Fraud charge.

Related charges

• Theft by Deception →
• Theft by Extortion →
• Computer Criminal Activity →
• Forgery →
• Bad Checks →
• Insurance Fraud →
• Identity Theft →
• Money Laundering →

Disclaimer: This page is general information about New Jersey law, not legal advice, and doesn't create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results don't guarantee a similar outcome.