Bill > HB2650

This bill expands the existing criminal statute on credit card theft to explicitly include gift certificates, which are defined according to another section of Virginia law (§ 59.1-530). The bill modifies the language of § 18.2-192 to add "gift certificate" alongside references to credit cards and credit card numbers in several key provisions. Specifically, the bill makes it a criminal offense to take, obtain, or withhold a gift certificate without the owner's consent, to receive a gift certificate known to be lost or mistakenly delivered, to sell or buy gift certificates from non-issuers, and to receive multiple gift certificates under suspicious circumstances. The criminal act of gift certificate theft is classified as grand larceny, which means it will be punishable under the same penalties as existing credit card theft provisions. This change effectively extends legal protections against theft to gift certificates, recognizing them as a form of financial instrument that can be illegally obtained or misused. The bill also updates some minor formatting elements, such as changing "twelve-month" to "12-month" and making some grammatical adjustments.

Justice

https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20251/HB2650