ASSEMBLY JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
ASSEMBLY, No. 4755
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: FEBRUARY 13, 2025
The Assembly Judiciary Committee reports favorably and with
committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 4755.
As amended and reported, this bill makes various changes to State
law related to retail theft. The bill upgrades certain crimes related to
retail theft, permits certain defendants to be sentenced to extended
terms of imprisonment, and establishes a retail theft unit in the
Department of Law and Public Safety (DLPS).
ASSAULT
As amended, the bill establishes that it is aggravated assault to
assault an employee of a store or other retail mercantile establishment.
Aggravated assault of an employee of a retail mercantile
establishment is a crime of the third degree if the victim suffers bodily
injury; otherwise, it is a crime of the fourth degree. A third degree
crime is punishable by three to five years imprisonment, a fine of up to
$15,000, or both. A fourth degree crime is punishable by up to 18
months imprisonment, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.
TAX EVASION
As amended, the bill establishes a second degree crime if any
portion of a tax, fee, penalty, or interest, or any part thereof required to
be paid or turned over was accrued through conduct as a leader of an
organized retail theft enterprise, otherwise it is a crime of the third
degree. Relatedly, as amended, the bill clarifies that a person is guilty
of the second degree crime if the taxes the person failed to turn over to
the Director of the Division of Taxation were collected or withheld as
part of an organized retail theft enterprise.
A second degree crime is punishable by five to 10 years
imprisonment, a fine of up to $150,000, or both.
PERSISTENT OFFENDER
The bill provides that a person may be sentenced to an extended
term of imprisonment for repeat convictions related to retail theft.
Under the bill, a person is a persistent offender if the person has
previously been convicted on two or more prior and separate occasions
of receiving stolen property, shoplifting, or being a leader of organized
retail theft enterprise; or theft that involves the stealing of
merchandise, regardless of the dates of the convictions. A persistent 2
offender may be sentenced to an extended term, upon motion of the
prosecutor, if the prior conviction was for a crime committed on a
separate occasion and the crime for which the person is being
sentenced was committed either: (1) within 10 years of the date of the
defendant’s last release from confinement for the commission of any
crime; or (2) within 10 years of the date of the commission of the most
recent violation of a crime established in the bill for which the
defendant has a prior conviction.
RETAIL THEFT AGGREGATION
As amended, the bill provides the value of the merchandise
involved in a violation or in multiple violations may be aggregated.
As amended, the bill provides that the value of merchandise involved
in a violation of the shoplifting statute may be aggregated in
determining the grade of the offense where the acts or conduct
constituting a violation were committed pursuant to one scheme or
course of conduct, whether from the same person or several persons
regardless of the time period over which the scheme or course of
conduct took place, or were committed in furtherance of or in
conjunction with an organized retail theft enterprise.
FENCING
The bill updates the fencing statute, section 7 of P.L.1981, c.167
(C.2C:20-7.1), to clarify that the statute also applies to online sales of
stolen goods.
FOSTERING STOLEN PROPERTY
The bill also separately establishes the offense of fostering the sale
of stolen property. The offense is a disorderly persons offense.
As amended, a person commits an offense under the bill when the
person, acting alone or in concert with another person or persons,
advertises or otherwise assists, by any means, including through
personal contact or through the use of an online platform or any other
communications channel or medium in the sale of property of another
knowing that is has been stolen or reasonably believing that it is
stolen.
As amended, the bill establishes two presumptions that are
available in the prosecution of an offense of fostering the sale of stolen
property. First, proof of the property being advertised for sale at a
price substantially below its fair market value, unless satisfactorily
explained, gives rise to an inference that the person advertising or
otherwise assisting in the sale of the property knew that it is stolen or
reasonably believed that the property is stolen; and second, proof that a
person advertised or otherwise assisted in the sale of the property
without having ascertained by reasonable inquiry that the person
offering the property for sale had a legal right to possess or control it 3
gives rise to an inference that such person knew that it is stolen or
reasonably believed that it is stolen.
A disorderly persons offense is punishable by up to six months
imprisonment, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.
GIFT CARD FRAUD
As amended, the bill imposes certain packaging and consumer
notice requirements for the sale of gift cards and requires the Division
of Consumer Affairs (DCA) in DLPS to create a notice related to gift
card fraud for dissemination in locations which sell gift cards.
The bill prohibits a retail mercantile establishment from knowingly
selling gift cards to a consumer unless the establishment conspicuously
displays the notice provided by the DCA and the packaging of the gift
card meets certain requirements in the bill. As amended, the bill
requires that gift cards, if enclosed in packaging, be sealed in a manner
that is not easily opened, removed, or replaced without signs of
tampering, and requires that all activation codes or bar codes be
concealed. As amended, the bill allows a retail mercantile
establishment to sell gift cards that do not conform to the packaging
requirements if the gift card is chip-enabled and activated only after
the consumer registers the card on the card issuer’s website, or the gift
card is sold only for use at that retail mercantile establishment and the
card inventory is secured, or the gift card incorporates certain anti-
tampering or anti-fraud technology.
Further, the bill establishes requirements as it relates to third-party
gift card resellers. The bill defines “third-party gift card reseller” as a
merchant who, without authorization from or affiliation with the
business entity issuing the gift card, is engaged in the business of: (1)
buying gift cards on behalf of consumers; or (2) reselling gift cards to
consumers. These resellers are subject to certain record maintenance
requirements.
A retail mercantile establishment that violates the provisions of
section 1 of P.L.2021, c.431 (C.56:8-110.1) or the provisions of the
bill related to gift card fraud is subject to a civil penalty of $1,000.
ORGANIZED RETAIL THEFT UNIT
Finally, as amended, the bill requires the Attorney General to
undertake steps as the Attorney General deems appropriate to promote
the effective investigation, prosecution, and deterrence of organized
retail theft in this State, which may include establishing a unit, task
force, or other appropriate office or initiative to combat organized
retail theft. As amended, the bill also provides that the Attorney
General may implement a statewide policy to direct and coordinate
State and local law enforcement efforts to investigate and prosecute
organized retail theft.
The unit, and the Division of Criminal Justice, will have the
authority to (1) investigate and, if warranted, prosecute cases 4
concerning acts of retail theft; and (2) assist county prosecutors in the
investigation and prosecution of acts of retail theft.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS :
The committee amended the bill to:
(1) clarify the components of the crime of fostering the sale of
stolen property and establishes presumptions available in the
prosecution of the crime;
(2) clarify the components of aggravated assault of an employee
of a store or other retail mercantile establishment under the assault
statute;
(3) remove section 5 of the bill related to the upgrading of the
crime of leader of an organized retail theft enterprise;
(4) clarify that the aggregation of value of merchandise involved
in a violation or in multiple violations can occur regardless of the time
period over which the scheme or course of conduct took place;
(5) permit the Attorney General to undertake steps to promote the
investigation, prosecution, and deterrence of organized retail theft in
the State, which may include establishing a task force and creating a
statewide initiative for State and local law enforcement;
(6) clarify the components of the second degree crime for
withholding taxes as a leader of an organized retail theft enterprise or
as part of an organized retail theft enterprise;
(7) require the Division of Consumer Affairs to provide notice on
its Internet website to customers of the risk of gift card scams;
(8) clarify the provisions concerning gift card packaging and
security requirements for retail sellers;
(9) remove the distinction between open-loop and closed-loop gift
cards;
(10) change the effective date of sections 10 and 11 to make those
sections inoperable until October 1, 2025 and to permit the Division of
Consumer Affairs to take anticipatory action; and
(11) make minor technical changes.