If you made a promise, which caused someone to give you money, but you failed to perform your end of the bargain, you may or may not be guilty of theft by deception. What matters is your intent at the time of the promise. If you genuinely intended to follow through on your promise when it was made, you likely did not have the intent necessary to commit theft by deception. The law in New Jersey is clear that failure to perform alone is not theft by deception; proof that you intended to deceive the other person must also be shown. If you lacked intent, you did not commit theft by deception. Conversely, if you knew or reasonably should have known that you couldn’t or wouldn’t follow through on your promise, then you committed this offense.
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