Theft and Fraud Attorney in New Brunswick, Middlesex County

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

Most New Jersey theft is graded by dollars under N.J.S.A. 2C:20-2(b). A loss below $200 is a disorderly persons offense with a county-jail cap of 6 months. Between $200 and $500 it is a 4th-degree crime, up to 18 months. Past $500 and short of $75,000, 3rd degree, with a 3-to-5-year range. At $75,000 or above, 2nd degree, 5 to 10. Robbery, carjacking, extortion, burglary and several fraud statutes follow their own rules, set out charge by charge below.

Where a case is heard depends on that grade. Disorderly persons complaints remain with the town’s own court; Edison sits at 100 Municipal Boulevard, Woodbridge at 1 Main Street, New Brunswick at 25 Kirkpatrick Street. Anything from 4th degree up is indictable, which sends it to the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office for screening and to the county courthouse on Paterson Street for trial. Our Edison office takes theft and fraud cases from every Middlesex town. I have spent more than 15 years trying criminal cases, and the most useful thing I can tell a new client is that the grade on the complaint is the State’s opening number, not the final one.

The Theft Scale at a Glance

Three rules apply across these charges. Value means fair market value at the time and place, proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Amounts from “one scheme or course of conduct” may be added together under the closing paragraph of 2C:20-2(b), so several small takings can become one larger count. And all forms of theft are a single offense under 2C:20-2(a), so the label on the complaint can change at trial if the defense has fair notice. Our statewide guide to New Jersey degrees of crimes explains the degree system in more depth.

Middlesex Theft and Fraud Charges, Most Serious First

1. Carjacking: always 1st degree under 2C:15-2, 10 to 30 years with at least 5 before parole, and subject to the No Early Release Act.
2. Robbery: theft plus force or threat under 2C:15-1; 2nd degree, or 1st degree if armed or serious injury is caused or attempted, with 85% served under NERA.
3. Money laundering: 1st degree at $500,000 or more, 2nd from $75,000, otherwise 3rd; sentenced consecutively to the underlying offense.
4. Theft by extortion: 2nd degree at any amount; NERA applies only to threats of injury, confinement or another offense.
5. Burglary: 3rd degree for a non-residential structure, 2nd with injury or a weapon; entering a home is residential burglary, 2nd degree and usually NERA.
6. Official misconduct: 2nd degree above $200, 3rd at $200 or less, with mandatory parole bars and forfeiture of office for public employees.
7. Auto theft: 3rd degree under 2C:20-10.1, 2nd at $75,000 or for more than one vehicle; joyriding is a separate 4th-degree charge.
8. Organized retail theft: shoplifting tied to a resale enterprise, 2nd degree at $1,000 and 3rd below; leading one is a separate 2nd-degree crime.
9. Embezzlement and employee theft: charged as theft and graded by amount, with 2nd degree for a fiduciary’s breach of $50,000 or more.
10. Identity theft: 4th to 2nd degree under 2C:21-17 by amount and number of victims; 2nd at $75,000 or five victims.
11. Insurance fraud: 3rd degree under 2C:21-4.6, 2nd for five or more acts totaling $1,000; misstating residence for an out-of-state policy is 4th.
12. Theft by deception: scams, contractor and marketplace fraud under 2C:20-4, graded by amount from disorderly persons to 2nd degree.
13. Theft of movable property: the basic taking charge under 2C:20-3, graded by value on the scale above.
14. Receiving stolen property: holding property you knew or believed was probably stolen, graded by value under 2C:20-2(b).
15. Shoplifting: disorderly persons to 2nd degree by retail value, with mandatory community service and 90 days’ jail on a third conviction.
16. Theft of services: unpaid hotel, restaurant, utility or other services under 2C:20-8, graded by value, with a $500 minimum fine.
17. Check fraud: bad checks on their own scale (3rd degree starts at $1,000); a forged or altered check is 3rd degree at any amount.
18. Prescription fraud: obtaining a controlled substance by fraud is 3rd degree; a non-controlled prescription drug, 4th degree.
19. Credit card fraud: using a stolen or forged card or account number is 3rd degree; taking or keeping a card is 4th.
20. Forgery: 4th degree, or 3rd for checks, government documents, prescription blanks, ID information and other listed writings.

Related charges on other Middlesex pages. Entering a home and causing or threatening injury, or carrying a weapon, is covered on our home invasion burglary page. Property damage is handled under criminal mischief, and unlawful entry without a theft under trespassing. Fake ID cases involving young people are addressed through our Middlesex juvenile defense practice.

How Middlesex County Processes Theft and Fraud Cases

The first paper. Most lower-level cases, from a shoplifting stop on Route 1 to a dispute over a borrowed laptop, start with a summons and a court date. A bigger loss or a prior record makes a complaint-warrant more likely, and with it a possible wait in the North Brunswick jail until a judge rules on release.

Town court or county. Disorderly persons complaints are heard locally: Old Bridge at 1 Old Bridge Plaza, Sayreville at 1000 Main Street, Piscataway at 555 Sidney Road, and the courts in South Plainfield, East Brunswick and North Brunswick. Indictable complaints go to the MCPO at 25 Kirkpatrick Street. Many 4th-degree and low 3rd-degree charges can be remanded to municipal court as disorderly persons offenses with the prosecutor’s consent, which is often the first goal. Shoplifting downgrades follow stricter Attorney General limits.

Indictment and the Superior Court. Files the prosecutor keeps go before a county grand jury, then to an assigned judge at the Middlesex County Superior Court.

Restitution. In nearly every theft or fraud case, the owner’s loss drives negotiations. Courts must order restitution when there is a loss and an ability to pay, so documenting the true figure, and offering it early, often changes the result. Our article on restitution in theft and fraud cases explains the process.

Sentencing, Records and Immigration

A first offender convicted of a 3rd- or 4th-degree theft or fraud crime generally has a presumption against imprisonment under N.J.S.A. 2C:44-1(e); third-degree motor vehicle theft is one of the exceptions. First- and second-degree convictions carry a presumption of imprisonment, but under 2C:44-1(d)(2), restored in 2026, a judge may sentence one degree lower when mitigating factors substantially outweigh aggravating ones. Most theft and fraud convictions can be expunged after the waiting period; robbery and crimes that touched a public office or job cannot. See our Middlesex expungement page. Theft and fraud offenses can carry serious immigration consequences, so non-citizens need immigration advice before any plea.

Diversion: PTI and Conditional Dismissal

For a first-time 3rd- or 4th-degree charge, Pretrial Intervention is the main route to dismissal. The application is filed with the Middlesex Criminal Division no later than the Initial Case Disposition Conference after arraignment, the prosecutor must agree, and repayment is normally a condition. A 1st- or 2nd-degree charge faces a presumption against admission, and public employees face added limits. For a disorderly persons charge, conditional dismissal in municipal court offers one year of monitoring and then dismissal. Both programs are available only once. See our page on Middlesex PTI.

Defenses That Recur in Theft and Fraud Cases

• Value. Fair market value, not a sticker or replacement price, often moves a case down a grade.
• Intent. Many charges require purpose to deprive, knowledge or deception. Mistakes, misunderstandings and bookkeeping errors are not crimes.
• Claim of right. Section 2C:20-2(c) protects a person with an honest belief that he had a right to the property.
• Aggregation. Separate incidents are not automatically one scheme.
• Searches and statements. Evidence from an unlawful search, or a statement taken without proper warnings, can be challenged.

Talk to a Middlesex County Theft and Fraud Lawyer

Do not explain the situation to the store, employer, bank or police before getting advice, and keep every receipt, message and record. Our Edison number, (732) 659-9600, is answered day and night, or write to us here.