Serving Jersey City, Hudson County & all of New Jersey · Free Consultations · Se Habla Español
Serving Jersey City, Hudson County & all of New Jersey · Free Consultations · Se Habla Español
Fraud in Jersey City is most often charged as theft by deception under N.J.S.A. 2C:20-4 — obtaining property by creating a false impression — and graded by amount: $500–$75,000 is third degree, $75,000 or more is second degree. Related charges include forgery (2C:21-1), credit card fraud (2C:21-6), identity theft (2C:21-17) and insurance fraud (2C:21-4.6). Cases are heard at Hudson County Superior Court, or federally in Newark where wires or the mail were used.
2C:20-4 makes it theft to purposely obtain the property of another by deception: creating or reinforcing a false impression, preventing someone from acquiring information that would affect their judgment, or failing to correct a false impression previously created. Critically, the statute says the term does not include falsity as to matters having no pecuniary significance, or puffing. And a failure to perform a promise is not by itself proof of deception — the State must show the intent not to perform existed at the time the promise was made. In business-dispute cases that get charged criminally, that requirement is often the whole defense.
Around theft by deception sit the specific fraud statutes: forgery under 2C:21-1 for altering or uttering a writing, credit card offenses under 2C:21-6, identity theft under 2C:21-17 — which is graded by both amount and the number of victims, so five victims can push a case to second degree regardless of totals — insurance fraud under 2C:21-4.6, and bad checks under 2C:21-5. Almost all are graded by amount and all can be aggregated within a single scheme.
2C:20-4 · the core fraud charge
2C:21-17 · graded by amount and number of victims
2C:21-6 · possession of a stolen card is third degree
2C:21-1 · checks, contracts, government documents
2C:21-5 · graded by amount
2C:21-4.6 · staged-accident and claim investigations
State and federal parallel investigations
Often federal · 18 U.S.C. § 1344
Overpayment cases charged as theft by deception
Federal · Newark · Guidelines by loss
| Charge | Statute | Grade by amount | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theft by deception | 2C:20-4 | $500–$75,000: third · $75,000+: second | 5–10 years |
| Identity theft | 2C:21-17 | Under $500: fourth · $500–$75,000: third · $75,000+ or 5+ victims: second | 5–10 years |
| Credit card theft / fraudulent use | 2C:21-6 | Third or fourth degree | 3–5 years |
| Forgery | 2C:21-1 | Fourth degree; third for money, securities, government documents | 3–5 years |
| Bad checks | 2C:21-5 | Disorderly persons to second degree by amount | 5–10 years |
| Insurance fraud | 2C:21-4.6 | Third degree; second if 5+ acts and $75,000+ | 5–10 years |
In Hudson County fraud prosecutions the charged amount is assembled from bank statements and spreadsheets, often by an investigator rather than an accountant. We routinely find transactions counted twice, refunds ignored, authorized payments included, and amounts attributed to a client that were another person’s activity. Moving the total below $75,000 removes the presumption of imprisonment; moving it below $500 can move the case out of Superior Court altogether.
The second recurring issue is intent. Jersey City has a large population of small business owners, contractors and self-employed workers, and a deal that went bad — a contractor who took a deposit and could not finish, a partner who moved money between accounts — gets reported as theft. The statute requires purpose to deceive at the time, and the documents usually show something else.
Fraud charges are graded by amount. Above $500 they are indictable crimes — the New Jersey equivalent of a felony — heard at Hudson County Superior Court. At $75,000 or more the charge is second degree with a presumption of prison.
It happens often, and it is defensible. Theft by deception requires a purpose to deceive at the time the property was obtained. A failure to perform a promise is expressly not sufficient proof of that intent under 2C:20-4.
Under 2C:21-17, impersonating another or using their identifying information to obtain a benefit or to injure them. It is graded by the amount involved and by the number of victims — five or more victims makes it a second-degree crime regardless of the total.
Pretrial Intervention is realistic on third- and fourth-degree first offenses, particularly with restitution addressed. Second-degree charges carry a presumption against PTI, which is one more reason the loss figure is contested first.
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Ibrahim & Ibrahim Law Firm
910 Bergen Ave, Suite 203
Jersey City, NJ 07306
Directions · a five-minute walk from Journal Square PATH; two blocks from the courthouse complex
