Bill codifying gift card fraud punishments advances to final Senate committee

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A bill clarifying penalties for gift card fraud cleared is en route to its final committee stop in the Senate after receiving another round of unanimous approval.

Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice voted 9-0 for SB 1198, which would establish that it is a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and/or $1,000 in fines, to commit gift card fraud in Florida.

That includes:

— Acquiring or retaining possession of a gift card or gift card redemption information without proper consent.

— Altering or tampering with a gift card or its packaging.

— Devising a scheme to obtain a gift card or gift card redemption information for fraudulent pretenses.

— Using an illegally obtained gift card or gift card redemption information to get money, goods, services or anything else of value.

If the value of the money, goods or services obtained illegally exceeds $750, the violator would face a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and/or $5,000 in fines.

Sen. Nick DiCeglie, a St. Petersburg Republican, is sponsoring the measure.

And it’s hardly superfluous; in 2023 alone, gift card-related fraud accounted for $217 million of the record $10 billion lost in scams across the U.S., according to Federal Trade Commission data.

There is no shortage of news reports about gift card fraudsters getting caught across the Sunshine State.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce, Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, AARP Florida and Walgreens support the bill.

So does St. Augustine Democratic Sen. Daryl Rouson, who noted in Monday’s meeting that while it’s already unlawful to scheme, defraud and steal someone’s gift card, DiCeglie’s measure “brings clarity to the prosecution.”

“I am proud to support this bill,” Rouson added.

SB 1198, which passed the Senate Criminal Justice Committee early this month on a 9-0 vote, will next go to the Senate Rules Committee, after which it will go to the chamber floor.

Its House companion (HB 1007) by St. Augustine Republican Rep. Sam Greco and Coral Springs Democratic Rep. Dan Daley cleared its first of two committee stops this month with unanimous support.