INTENT OF CARDHOLDER TO DEFRAUD; PENALTIES; REVOCATION
(USING CARD OBTAINED/RETAINED IN VIOLATION OF LAW)
N.J.S.A. 2C:21-6d model jury charge
The defendant is charged with Credit
Card Theft, Specifically,
(Read Count of Indictment)
The applicable section of the
statute reads as follows:
A person, who with intent to defraud the issuer, a
person or organization providing money, goods, services or anything else of
value, or any other person . . . uses for the purpose of obtaining money,
goods, services or anything else of value a credit card obtained or retained in
violation of the law[1] . . . is
guilty of a crime.
In
order for you to find the defendant guilty, the State must prove the following
elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
1. The defendant used a credit card for
the purpose of obtaining money, goods, services or anything else of value.
2. The credit card had been obtained or
retained by the defendant in violation of the law, [Choose Whichever
Applicable], (1) without the consent of the cardholder; (2) a credit card
believed to have been lost, mislaid or delivered under a mistake as to the
identity or address of the cardholder; (3) a credit card bought from a person
other than the issuer; (4) a credit card obtained as security for a debt; or (5)
a credit card falsely made or falsely embossed.
3. That the defendant knew the credit card
had been obtained or retained in violation of the law, [Choose Whichever
Applicable], (1) without the consent of the cardholder; (2) a credit card
believed to have been lost, mislaid or delivered under a mistake as to the
identity or address of the cardholder; (3) a credit card bought from a person
other than the issuer; (4) a credit card obtained as security for a debt; or (5)
a credit card falsely made or falsely embossed.
4. The defendant used the credit card with
the intent to defraud the issuer, or a person or organization providing money,
goods, services, or anything else of value, or any other person.
The
first element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that the
defendant used a credit card for the purpose of obtaining money, goods,
services or anything else of value.
“Credit
card” means any tangible or intangible instrument or device issued with or
without a fee by an issuer that can be used, alone or in connection with
another means of account access, in obtaining money, goods, services or
anything else of value on credit, including credit cards, credit plates,
account numbers, or any other means of account access.
The
second element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that the
credit card had been obtained or retained by the defendant or another person in
violation of the law, [Choose Whichever Applicable], (1) without the
consent of the cardholder; (2) a credit card believed to have been lost,
mislaid or delivered under a mistake as to the identity or address of the
cardholder; (3) a credit card bought from a person other than the issuer; (4) a
credit card obtained as security for a debt; or (5) a credit card falsely made
or falsely embossed.
“Cardholder”
means the person or organization named on the face of a credit card to whom or
for whose benefit the credit card is issued by an issuer, person or
organization providing money, goods, services or anything else of value, or any
other person.
“Issuer”
means the business organization or financial institution which issues a credit
card or its duly authorized agent.
The
third element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that the
defendant knew the credit card had been obtained or retained in violation of
the law, [Choose Whichever Applicable],
(1) without the consent of the cardholder; (2) a credit card believed to
have been lost, mislaid or delivered under a mistake as to the identity or
address of the cardholder; (3) a credit card bought from a person other than
the issuer; (4) a credit card obtained as security for a debt; or (5) a credit
card falsely made or falsely embossed.
A
person acts “knowingly” with respect to a result of his/her conduct if he/she is aware that
it is practically certain that his/her conduct will cause such a result.
A person acts knowingly with respect to the nature of his/her conduct if he/she is aware that
his/her conduct is of that nature.
“Knowing,” “with knowledge” or equivalent terms have the same meaning.
Knowledge
is a condition of the mind which cannot be seen and can only be determined by
inferences from conduct, words or acts.
It is not necessary for the State to produce a witness or witnesses who
could testify that the defendant acted knowingly.
“Consent”
is the voluntary agreement by the cardholder to the use of the card.
The
fourth element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that the
defendant used the credit card with the intent to defraud the issuer, or a
person or organization providing money, goods, services, or anything else of
value, or any other person.
A
person acts “with intent” when he/she acts with
purpose. A person acts purposely with
respect to the nature of his/her conduct or a result thereof if it is his/her conscious objective to engage in conduct of that nature or to cause
such a result. A person acts purposely
with respect to attendant circumstances if he/she is aware of
the existence of such circumstances or believes or hopes that they exist. One can be deemed to be acting purposely if he/she acts with
design, with a purpose, with a particular objective, if the individual means to
do what he/she does.
“To
defraud” means to deprive a person of property or any interest, estate, or
right by deceit or artifice, to cheat.
If
you find that the State has proven all of the above elements beyond a
reasonable doubt, then you must find the defendant guilty of the crime charged.
If,
however, you find that the State has failed to prove any of the elements of the
crime beyond a reasonable doubt, you must then find the defendant not guilty.
[1] This statutory provision cross-references N.J.S.A.
2C:21-6c, which contains a number of different provisions prohibiting various
forms of credit card theft. In each case
the charges will have to be tailored to the theft.
