UNAUTHORIZED USE OF ATP CARD OR FOOD STAMP COUPONS
OR BENEFIT CARD
(N.J.S.A.
2C:20-36 and 2C:20-37)
The defendant(s) is (are) charged in
Count of the indictment with unauthorized use of an
ATP Card or Food Stamp Coupon or benefit card.
[READ COUNT OF INDICTMENT]
The applicable statute provides, in
pertinent part, that:
An individual shall be guilty of [unauthorized use of an
ATP card or food stamp coupon or benefit card] if he purposely or knowingly and
without authorization:
[CHOOSE
AS APPROPRIATE]
a. Receives
or uses the proceeds of food stamp coupons or an ATP card or benefit card for
which he has not applied or has not been approved by the department [of Human
Services] to use;
OR
b. Engages
in any transaction to convert food stamp coupons or an ATP card or benefit card
to other property contrary to federal and State government rules and
regulations governing the Work First New Jersey Program, the federal food stamp
program, the New Jersey Supplementary Food Stamp Program, or any other program
included in the electronic benefit distribution system;
OR
c. Transfers food stamp coupons or an ATP
card or benefit card to another person who is not lawfully entitled or approved
by the department [of Human Services] to use coupons or an ATP card or benefit
card.
In
order for you to find the defendant guilty, the first element that the State
must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is:
[CHOOSE AS APPROPRIATE]
that
defendant received or used the proceeds of food stamp coupons or an ATP card or
benefit card for which he/she had not applied or has not been approved
by the department [of Human Services] to use;
OR
that
defendant engaged in any transaction to convert food stamp coupons or an ATP
card or benefit card to other property, contrary to certain rules and
regulations;[1]
OR
that defendant transferred food stamp coupons or an
ATP card or benefit card to another person who is not lawfully entitled or
approved by the department to use the coupons or ATP or benefit card.
"ATP card" means a document issued by a
State or federal agency, to a certified household, to show the food stamp
allotment a household is authorized to receive on presentation.[2]
"Benefit card" means a card used or
intended for use to access Work First New Jersey, food stamp or other benefits
as determined by the Commissioner of Human Services under the electronic
benefit distribution system established pursuant to the "Public Assistance
Electronic Benefit Distribution System Act."[3]
"Department"
means the Department of Human Services.
"Food
stamp coupon" means any coupon or stamp used or intended for use in the
purchase of food pursuant to the federal food stamp program authorized by [the
federal food stamp program][4] or the New
Jersey [food stamp program].[5]
[CHARGE
WHERE APPROPRIATE]
“Transfer”
means to convey or move from one place or person to another. It includes selling or giving.
[CHARGE
IN ALL CASES]
The second
element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that defendant
acted without authorization from the Department of Human Services or its
designee.
The third
element that the State must prove is that defendant acted purposely or
knowingly.
A person acts purposely with respect to the result
of his/her conduct if it is his/her conscious object to cause such a result. A person acts purposely if he/she acts with design, with a specific intent, with a
particular object or purpose, or if he/she means to do
what he does.
A person acts knowingly with respect to the result
of his/her conduct if he/she is aware
that it is practically certain that his/her conduct will cause such a result.
The terms
purposely and knowingly are conditions of the mind. A condition of the mind cannot be seen. It can only be determined by inference from defendant’s conduct, words or acts. A state of mind is rarely susceptible of
direct proof but must ordinarily be inferred from the facts. Therefore, it is not necessary that the State
produce witnesses to testify that an accused said that he/she had a
certain state of mind when he/she did a
particular thing. It is within your
power to find that such proof has been furnished beyond a reasonable doubt by
inference which may arise from the nature of his/her acts and conduct and from all he/she said and did
at the particular time and place and from all surrounding circumstances
established by the evidence.
[CHARGE
IN ALL CASES]
If you find
that the State has proven all three elements beyond a reasonable doubt, then
you must find defendant guilty of
unauthorized use of [Choose as appropriate: an ATP card or
benefit card or food stamp coupon]. If you find
that the State has failed to prove any element beyond a reasonable doubt, then
you must find defendant not guilty of [Choose as appropriate: an ATP card or
benefit card or food stamp coupon].
The State also must prove the face value of the
property beyond a reasonable doubt. If
you find the defendant guilty of the offense, then you must indicate whether
you find the amount or face value of the food stamp coupon, ATP card or benefit
card involved:
(1) is
$150 or more;
(2) is
less than $150;
[CHARGE
WHERE APPROPRIATE]
The State has
the burden of proving the face value of the property involved. This means that the State must prove beyond a
reasonable doubt that the property is worth what the State claims.
[CHARGE
WHERE APPROPRIATE]
If you find
that the State has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the amounts involved
were taken in thefts committed pursuant to one scheme or course of conduct, the
amounts may be added together to form a single total amount.
[1] See
N.J.S.A. 44:10-5.1 et seq. (Public Assistance Electronic
Benefit Distribution System Act) and N.J.S.A. 44:10-55 et seq.
(Work First New Jersey Act); N.J.S.A. 44:10-75 et seq.
(New Jersey Supplementary Food Stamp Program Act) and N.J.A.C. 10:87-1 et
seq. (regulations governing food stamps) N.J.A.C. 10:90 et
seq. (regulations governing Work First Program). See also 7 U.S.C. '2011 et
seq.; 7 C.F.R. 217 et seq. (regulations concerning
Food Stamp and Food Distribution Program).
[2] ATP
is a shorthand reference to the term “authorized to participate.”
[3] See
N.J.S.A. 44:10-5.1 et seq. (Public Assistance Electronic
Benefit Distribution System Act) and N.J.S.A. 44:10-55 et seq.
(Work First New Jersey Act) and N.J.A.C. 10:87-1 et seq.
(regulations governing food stamps) N.J.A.C. 10:90 et seq.
(regulations governing Work First Program).
[4] See
7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.; 7 C.F.R. 217 et seq.
(regulations concerning Food Stamp and Food Distribution Program).
