Credit card offenses are some of the most aggressively charged financial crimes in New Jersey. What might feel like a single bad decision can be broken into multiple counts, and the grading can climb quickly — not just on the dollar amount, but on how many cards or transactions are involved. Understanding how N.J.S.A. 2C:21-6 works is the first step to defending one.
What the statute covers
N.J.S.A. 2C:21-6 is a broad statute that criminalizes a range of credit-card-related conduct, including:
- Stealing or unlawfully taking a credit or debit card.
- Using a card known to be stolen, forged, revoked, or belonging to someone else without authorization.
- Possessing cards of others with intent to use them unlawfully.
- Forging or altering cards, or trafficking in card information.
Because the statute reaches possession and use — not just the original theft — a person can be charged even if they never stole anything, much like receiving stolen property.
How it’s graded
Credit card offenses under 2C:21-6 are generally graded as third-degree crimes, but related conduct — theft of the funds, identity-theft allegations, and the total value involved — can raise the overall exposure. Third-degree crimes carry a presumption of state prison considerations and a serious record, the kind of stakes we describe in disorderly persons vs. indictable offenses.
Where these cases get defended
- Knowledge and intent — whether the person actually knew a card was stolen or used it intending to defraud, the core of the charge.
- Identity and attribution — whether the State can actually prove you made the charges, particularly in online and card-not-present cases where evidence is circumstantial.
- The search and seizure — how cards, devices, or data were obtained, and whether that was lawful.
- The grading and the counts — challenging how the State has aggregated or stacked the charges.
For eligible first-time defendants, diversion through Pretrial Intervention — often paired with restitution — can resolve a case without a conviction. A resolved or dismissed charge may later be addressed through expungement.
Charged with a credit card offense? Don’t try to explain the transactions
Because intent and attribution are the heart of these cases, talking to investigators usually does more harm than good. If you’re facing a 2C:21-6 charge anywhere in New Jersey, it’s worth a free call before you say anything about the charges.
Part of our complete guide: For every related New Jersey offense, claim, and defense in one place, see our NJ Criminal Charges Guide.