FALSE
CONTRACT PAYMENT CLAIMS
[KNOWINGLY
MAKES FALSE REPRESENTATION]
(N.J.S.A.
2C:21-34b) model jury charge
[READ COUNT OF THE INDICTMENT]
The
statute provides in pertinent part:
A person
commits a crime if the person knowingly makes a material representation that is
false in connection with the negotiation, award or performance of a government
contract.
In
order to convict the defendant of this charge, the State must prove the
following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
1.
That the defendant made a
representation;
2.
That the representation was false;
3.
That defendant knew the
representation was false;
4.
That the false representation was
made in connection with the negotiation, award or performance of a government
contract;
5.
That the false representation was
material to the negotiation, award or performance of a government contract; and
6.
That the defendant knew the false
representation was material to the negotiation, award or performance of a
government contract.
The
first element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that
defendant made a representation.
The
second element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that the
representation was false.
The
third element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that
defendant knew the representation was false.
The
fourth element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that the
false representation was made in connection with the negotiation, award or
performance of a government1
contract.
The
fifth element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that the
false representation was material to the negotiation, award or performance of a
government contract.
To
be material, the representation must not be trivial or irrelevant. Rather, a representation is material, if when
made, a reasonable person would have considered it relevant to his/her concerns
and important in determining his/her course of action. In other words, a material representation
must have the capacity to influence or affect the course or the outcome of the
negotiation, award or performance of the government contract.2
The
sixth element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that the
defendant knew the false representation was material to the negotiation, award
or performance of a government contract.
I
have already defined material.
A
person acts knowingly with respect to the nature of his/her conduct or the attendant circumstances if he/she
is aware that the conduct is of that nature or that such circumstances exist or
the person is aware of a high probability of their existence. A person acts knowingly with respect to a
result of the conduct if he/she
is aware that it is practically certain that the conduct will cause such
result. “Knowing,” “with knowledge,” or
equivalent terms have the same meaning.
Knowledge
is a condition of the mind. It cannot be
seen. It can only be determined by
inference from the 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 the surrounding
circumstances established by the evidence.
If
you find that the State has failed to prove any of the six elements beyond a
reasonable doubt then you must find the defendant not guilty of the crime
charged.
On
the other hand, if you find that the State has proven all six elements beyond a
reasonable doubt, then you must find the defendant guilty of the crime of
making a material representation that is false in connection with the
negotiation, award or performance of a government contract. If you find the defendant guilty beyond a
reasonable doubt you must then determine whether the State has proven beyond a
reasonable doubt that the claim submitted was for:
[CHARGE AS APPLICABLE]
$25,000 or above ( );
more than $2,500 but less than
$25,000 ( );
$2,500 or less ( ).
[1]
N.J.S.A. 2C:27-1b
defines “government” as, “any branch, subdivision or agency of the government
of the State or any locality within it.”
[2]
State v. Neal, 361 N.J.
Super. 522, 531-33 (App. Div. 2003); N.J.S.A. 2C:28-1 Cannel, New
Jersey Criminal Code Annotated, comment 2. See also State v. Anderson,
127 N.J. 191 (1992).