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Senate committee backs bill to clarify charges for organized gift-card fraud; amendment adopted
Summary
Lawmakers heard testimony and adopted amendments on SB 258, a bill aimed at addressing organized retail gift-card fraud by clarifying how prosecutors value tampered or activated gift cards when charging theft-related offenses; the attorney general's office and retail groups supported the measure and the committee moved it as amended.
Senator Denise Ricciardi introduced Senate Bill 258, describing a surge in organized retail schemes that tamper with in‑store gift cards and later drain balances after cards are activated. Ricciardi told the committee the practice leaves customers and retailers with losses and is particularly attractive to organized groups because New Hampshire’s lack of a sales tax makes the state an attractive point of sale for stolen goods.
"Gift cards are the number 1 most requested holiday gift," Ricciardi told the committee, summarizing retail testimony on the prevalence and impact of the crime. The bill’s chief aim, she said, is to give prosecutors clearer statutory tools so theft statutes can reflect modern misuse of gift-card information.
Brandon Gerard, senior assistant attorney general and chief of the Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau, testified the attorney general’s office supports SB 258 as amended. "This bill does not do anything revolutionary. It doesn't do anything complex. All it does is account for the reality that the way theft has been modernized to involve gift cards," Gerard said, explaining that the measure inserts definitions into the theft chapter (RSA 637) to make it clear how to value property when a card’s monetary amount is indeterminate.
Curtis Picard, president and CEO of the New Hampshire Retail Association, and other retail witnesses provided industry examples and an infographic attached to their testimony. Retail representatives described schemes in which cards are tampered with on shelves, re‑placed, and monitored so criminals can drain balances after activation; retailers frequently refund affected customers but absorb losses.
The committee considered and passed amendment 2025-0428s and later voted "ought to pass as amended." The chair recorded the motion to pass and members adopted the amendment by voice vote; the bill was moved to the next stage with the amendment in place.
Next steps: With the committee recommendation, SB 258 as amended would move toward a floor calendar for further legislative action and possible enrollment to the governor.
