Theft by Deception Lawyer in New Brunswick, Middlesex County

Reviewed by William A. Proetta, Esq. · Updated October 2026

Getting money or property from someone through a lie or a false impression is charged as theft by deception, N.J.S.A. 2C:20-4, and N.J.S.A. 2C:20-2(b) sets the grade by how much changed hands. Under $200 it is a disorderly persons offense with up to 6 months in jail; from $200 through $500 it becomes a 4th-degree crime carrying up to 18 months; above $500 and below $75,000 it is 3rd degree, 3 to 5 years; and at $75,000 or more, or a fiduciary breach of at least $50,000, it is 2nd degree, 5 to 10 years.

A charge under $200 is heard in the municipal court of the town where the money changed hands, for example the Edison court at 100 Municipal Boulevard or the Woodbridge court at 1 Main Street. Every higher tier is reviewed by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and prosecuted in the Superior Court in New Brunswick. William Proetta Criminal Law takes on deception cases from our Edison office; my own trial work in these courtrooms now spans more than 15 years.

What the Prosecutor Has to Show

The State must prove that the accused purposely obtained property of another by deception. “Property” is broad: cash, a bank transfer, goods, a deposit, a refund. The statute defines deceiving in three ways. The person purposely:

• created or reinforced a false impression, including one about value, intention or state of mind (falsely claiming to collect for a charity is listed expressly);
• prevented someone from getting information that would have affected their judgment about the transaction; or
• failed to correct a false impression they had created, or one they knew was influencing a person who relied on them in a fiduciary or confidential relationship.

Three limits in the law shape most of our defenses:

• A broken promise is not proof by itself. The statute says intent not to perform may not be inferred solely from the fact that the person did not perform. A contractor who took a deposit and then ran out of money has a civil problem, not necessarily a criminal one.
• Reliance. The other person must have parted with the property because of the deception. In State v. Mann, 244 N.J. Super. 622 (App. Div. 1990), the court held that without reliance there is no conviction.
• Puffing is excluded. Exaggeration unlikely to fool ordinary people, or statements with no financial significance, are not deception.

Value and aggregation. The amount is a fact the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt, using fair market value at the time and place of the transaction. Amounts taken under one scheme or course of conduct, from one person or several, may be added together to set the grade. Ten small marketplace sales can therefore become one 3rd-degree count.

Where These Charges Come From

The fact patterns we see repeat:

• Online sales. Payment is sent for a phone, tickets or a car part that never arrives, or the item delivered is not what was described. Our article on marketplace fraud covers how buyers’ complaints turn into charges.
• Payment apps and wires. Instant transfers are hard to reverse, so banks refer them to police quickly. See Zelle, wire and unemployment fraud for how those records are used.
• Home-improvement deposits. A homeowner in Old Bridge or East Brunswick pays up front, work stalls, and a complaint follows.
• Benefit and refund claims. False statements to a State agency or a business to obtain payments.
• Workplace schemes. False invoices or padded payroll can be charged as deception. Our embezzlement and employee theft page covers those cases.

Theft by Deception Grading

A court may instead fine up to double the gain or loss, but only after making a finding on that amount.

What a Conviction Brings

Restitution. When there is a loss and the defendant can pay, the court shall order restitution, set to give the fullest compensation consistent with ability to pay. It is mandatory when a State agency is the victim. Our page on restitution in theft and fraud cases explains how the number is set.

Prison presumptions. A first offender convicted of a 3rd- or 4th-degree deception count has a presumption of non-imprisonment under N.J.S.A. 2C:44-1(e); there is no fraud exception. A 2nd-degree conviction carries a presumption of imprisonment, although N.J.S.A. 2C:44-1(d)(2) lets the judge impose a 3rd-degree term instead when clearly convinced that mitigation substantially outweighs aggravation and justice requires it. The State then has 10 days to appeal. NERA does not apply to theft by deception.

Public employees. Deception over $10,000 that touches a public job triggers a mandatory term without parole under N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6.5 (2 years for 3rd degree, 5 years for 2nd), pension forfeiture under N.J.S.A. 43:1-3.1, and loss of the position. That conviction cannot be expunged.

Expungement. Otherwise, theft by deception is not on the bar list. One indictable conviction can usually be cleared after 5 years (4 with compelling circumstances); see our Middlesex expungement page.

Immigration. Fraud offenses can carry serious immigration consequences, and federal law treats a fraud offense with a loss over $10,000 as an aggravated felony. A non-citizen should have the plea reviewed by an immigration lawyer, and the loss figure in any plea deserves attention.

How Middlesex County Prosecutes Deception Cases

Most deception files start with a complaint to a local department in Edison, Woodbridge or New Brunswick from the person who paid, or a referral from a bank’s fraud unit. Because the alleged harm is financial, a summons with a court date is the common starting point. A complaint-warrant and a first appearance from the county jail on Apple Orchard Lane in North Brunswick become more likely when many people complained or there is a record.

At $200 or more, the complaint is sent to the MCPO at 25 Kirkpatrick Street. Detectives typically subpoena account statements, payment-app histories and marketplace messages before presenting the case to a New Brunswick grand jury. The proof is usually documentary, which means the defense starts with the same records: the full message thread, not the excerpt in the complaint, and the account activity before and after the payment.

Restitution drives most outcomes. When the money is returned or a repayment plan is in place early, the prosecutor may agree to remand a small-dollar indictable count to the municipal court as a disorderly persons offense, which requires the county prosecutor’s consent. Where the gap between a business dispute and a crime is real, as in many contractor cases, we present the contract, the work completed and the materials purchased to show the money went where it was supposed to go. A Superior Court case is heard at the courthouse at 56 Paterson Street.

Diversion Options for a Deception Charge

Below $200, the municipal route is conditional dismissal (N.J.S.A. 2C:43-13.1), open to people with no prior conviction or diversion: a plea, one year of monitoring, then dismissal. It is barred for offenses involving a breach of the public trust. At the 3rd- and 4th-degree levels, a person with no record may seek Pretrial Intervention in Middlesex; the application is filed with the county Criminal Division before the first case disposition conference after arraignment, and repayment is normally built into the terms. A 2nd-degree charge carries a presumption against PTI and requires a guilty plea held in abeyance. Either program can be used only once.

Defenses to Theft by Deception

• No deception when the money was paid. Later inability to deliver or finish the job does not prove a lie at the start.
• No reliance. If the buyer knew the truth or paid for other reasons, Mann defeats the charge.
• Puffing. “Best price in town” is not a misrepresentation.
• Claim of right. Under 2C:20-2(c), sincerely believing you were entitled to the payment is an affirmative defense.
• Value and aggregation. We test whether separate transactions were truly one scheme and whether the amount crosses the $200, $500 or $75,000 lines.
• Who controlled the account. Shared logins, borrowed phones and spoofed profiles often point elsewhere.

Call About a Deception Charge

Save every message, receipt and transfer record, and do not contact the complaining person to explain or repay without advice. Call our Edison office at (732) 659-9600, any hour, or reach us online. For context on related charges, see our Middlesex theft and fraud overview.