Credit Card Fraud Lawyer in Hudson County
Reviewed by William A. Proetta, Esq. · Updated October 2026
Credit card fraud in New Jersey is a set of offenses under N.J.S.A. 2C:21-6, each graded by what you are accused of doing with the card rather than by how much was charged. Using a stolen, forged, expired or revoked card, or someone else’s card number, is a third-degree crime with three to five years of exposure and a fine up to $15,000; stealing a card, keeping a lost one, or lying on an application to get one is a fourth-degree crime with up to 18 months. There is no disorderly persons version, so every credit card fraud complaint in Hudson County is indictable. It is screened by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office and, if not downgraded or diverted, proceeds in the Criminal Division of Superior Court at the Frank J. Guarini Justice Complex, 24 Central Avenue, Jersey City. The dollar amount comes back through the companion count: card cases usually also charge theft by deception under N.J.S.A. 2C:20-4, which is graded by value.
I have defended card cases in Superior Court for more than 15 years. The outcome turns on which subsection was charged and whether the State can prove you knew the card was not yours to use. Call (201) 793-8018 for a free case review.
Credit Card Fraud Under N.J.S.A. 2C:21-6
“Credit card” under subsection (a) means any tangible or intangible instrument or device, including an account number alone, so a debit card, a number stored in a phone wallet, or a number typed into a checkout page can all qualify.
How Each Subsection Is Graded
Two points matter more than any row. First, the amount charged is not a grading factor anywhere in N.J.S.A. 2C:21-6. A $40 tap at a Journal Square bodega is the same third-degree offense under subsection (d) as a $4,000 purchase, and no amount makes a card count second degree. The dollar figure matters on the companion theft by deception count, which follows N.J.S.A. 2C:20-2(b). A plea to a downgraded theft count in place of the card count is one way a small case can return to municipal court.
Second, each use can be charged as a separate offense, so twenty swipes on one stolen card can produce twenty counts.
Credit card fraud: every count is an indictable crime, whatever the amount
N.J.S.A. 2C:21-6. The grade depends on the subsection charged, not the dollar figure.
Indictable offenses are screened by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office before the Criminal Division of Superior Court (24 Central Avenue, Jersey City) hears them.
Every credit card crime in N.J.S.A. 2C:21-6 and its degree
N.J.S.A. 2C:21-6(b)–(h). Fourth degree: up to 18 months. Third degree: 3 to 5 years. Both are indictable and go to the Hudson County Prosecutor, not municipal court.
Skimmers and reencoders are charged separately under 2C:21-6.1: third degree to use one, fourth degree to possess one with intent. The statutory presumptions above are permissive inferences only; the jury is never required to draw them.
The Statutory Presumptions
Subsection (c) lets the State ask the jury to infer intent from numbers. Possessing cards issued in the names of two or more other people, or two or more stolen cards, supports an inference of intent to use, sell or transfer them. Under subsection (d), a cardholder is presumed to know a card was revoked four days after the issuer mailed notice by certified or registered mail, ten days if the address was abroad.
Each of these is permissive. The jury may draw the inference, is never required to, and the burden never shifts (State v. DiRienzo, 53 N.J. 360 (1969); applied to the card presumptions in State v. Humphrey, 183 N.J. Super. 580 (Law Div. 1982)).
Sentencing and Collateral Consequences
Restitution under N.J.S.A. 2C:44-2(b) runs to whoever absorbed the loss, usually the issuer or the merchant, and the fine may be set at up to double the gain or loss under N.J.S.A. 2C:43-3. The lasting consequence is the record: a fraud conviction can disqualify you from banking, insurance, real estate and some health-care licenses. It can be expunged after five years, or four with compelling circumstances.
Credit Card Fraud Charges in Jersey City, Hoboken and Hudson County
The common Hudson patterns: a flagged in-store transaction, with loss prevention holding the customer until Jersey City or Bayonne police arrive. A family or roommate case, where a card was used with what the defendant believed was permission until a breakup. A server or delivery case on Washington Street or Bergenline Avenue, where numbers from receipts turn up in online orders. A traffic stop on the Turnpike extension or the Holland Tunnel approach that produces a wallet of cards in other names, bringing the two-card presumption and a possible receiving stolen property count. And online cases built from a phone the police later seize.
Indictable card cases are screened by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office. Multi-victim or card-making cases can involve its Special Investigations Unit and its Cyber Security Lab.
Skimmers and Scanning Devices
N.J.S.A. 2C:21-6.1 is a separate statute for the hardware. Using a scanning device to read or copy the data on a payment card’s magnetic stripe without the cardholder’s permission, or a reencoder to put that data on another card, with intent to defraud, is third degree. Knowingly possessing a scanner, reencoder or software adapted for that purpose, with intent to use it, is fourth degree.
When It Becomes Identity Theft
If the State alleges you used personal identifying information, not just a card number, to open an account or assume someone’s identity, it can add identity theft under N.J.S.A. 2C:21-17. That statute is graded by value and victims: fourth degree under $500 with one victim, third degree from $500 to $75,000 or two to four victims, and second degree at $75,000 or more or five or more victims. A case with five cardholders can carry second-degree exposure through 2C:21-17 even though 2C:21-6 tops out at third degree.
Diversion for Credit Card Fraud
The general PTI rules are on our theft and fraud overview and our Pretrial Intervention page. Two things complicate card cases. A multi-count, multi-victim case invites the “continuing criminal business” factor, which we address in the application. And a companion identity theft count at second degree brings the presumption against admission into play.
Arrest and Pretrial Release
A card case can begin with a summons after an investigation or an arrest at the store. A complaint-warrant and a Pretrial Services interview are more likely with many counts, cards in multiple names, or an out-of-state defendant stopped on the Turnpike. See our pretrial release page.
Immigration Consequences
Fraud is inherent in every subsection of N.J.S.A. 2C:21-6, so a conviction is likely to be treated as a crime involving moral turpitude. Because the lowest grade is fourth degree, with an 18-month maximum, the petty-offense exception is not available. The second line is loss: a fraud conviction where the loss to the victims exceeds $10,000 is an aggravated felony under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(M)(i) regardless of sentence. For a non-citizen, the loss stipulated in the plea matters as much as the charge, and affirmatively wrong advice on it is grounds to withdraw the plea (State v. Nuñez-Valdéz, 200 N.J. 129 (2009)).
Defenses to Credit Card Fraud
- Permission. Authorization from the cardholder defeats intent to defraud, and a later change of heart by a family member or ex-partner does not retroactively make a purchase fraudulent.
- Knowledge. Subsection (d) requires that you knew the card was stolen, forged, expired or revoked. A card handed to you to run an errand is not fraudulent use, and the four-day revocation presumption applies only if the State proves the certified mailing.
- The presumptions are permissive. The jury may reject the two-card inference, and a charge treating it as mandatory is error under DiRienzo.
- Identity. A transaction on your account or phone does not prove you made it.
- The stop and the seizure. Cards found in a vehicle search on the Turnpike extension, or in a phone searched without a warrant, are subject to a motion to suppress.
- Value on the companion count. The theft count must be proven by actual loss, and a reduction below $200 moves it to municipal court.
Credit Card Fraud FAQs
Is credit card fraud a felony in New Jersey?
Yes. Every offense under N.J.S.A. 2C:21-6 is an indictable crime of the third or fourth degree, heard in Superior Court. There is no disorderly persons version, regardless of the amount.
Does the amount I charged matter for credit card fraud in NJ?
Not for the 2C:21-6 count, which is graded by the act. It matters for the companion theft count and, for non-citizens, for the $10,000 aggravated-felony line.
Can I be charged for using my family member’s credit card?
Only if you used it without authorization and with intent to defraud. Permission is a complete defense, and a cardholder’s later dispute with the bank does not by itself prove you lacked it.
What happens if police find several credit cards in my car?
Possessing cards in the names of two or more other people lets the State ask the jury to infer intent to use or sell them. The inference is permissive, and the search can be challenged.
Is using someone’s card number online, without the card, still a crime?
Yes. Subsection (h) covers using any actual or fictitious card or account information to obtain money, goods or services, and it is third degree.
Is possessing a credit card skimmer a crime in NJ?
Yes. Under N.J.S.A. 2C:21-6.1, possessing a scanner or reencoder with intent to use it is fourth degree, and using one is third degree. The statute has no second-degree tier.
Talk to a Hudson County Credit Card Fraud Lawyer
A card case is won or lost on the subsection charged, the proof of knowledge and the bank records. Bring the notice, the complaint and any messages showing permission, and we will map the charges against the chart above before you speak to a detective. Call William Proetta Criminal Law at (201) 793-8018, any hour, for a free, confidential case review.