Florida Senate - 2025                             CS for SB 1198
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Criminal Justice; and Senator DiCeglie
       
       
       
       
       
       591-02285-25                                          20251198c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to fraudulent use of gift cards;
    3         creating s. 817.091, F.S.; defining terms; providing
    4         criminal penalties for persons who, with the intent to
    5         defraud, commit specified prohibited acts related to
    6         gift cards; providing criminal penalties for persons
    7         who, with the intent to defraud, use for certain
    8         purposes gift cards or gift card redemption
    9         information; providing enhanced criminal penalties if
   10         the value of such violation exceeds a specified
   11         amount; providing an effective date.
   12          
   13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   14  
   15         Section 1. Section 817.091, Florida Statutes, is created to
   16  read:
   17         817.091 Fraudulent use of gift cards.—
   18         (1) As used in this section, the term:
   19         (a) “Cardholder” means a person to whom a physical or
   20  virtual gift card is sold, gifted, or issued following the
   21  authorized sale of the gift card.
   22         (b) “Card issuer” means a person that issues a gift card or
   23  the agent of that person with respect to that card.
   24         (c) “Gift card” means a card, code, or device that is
   25  issued to a consumer on a prepaid basis primarily for personal,
   26  family, or household purposes in a specified amount, regardless
   27  of whether that amount may be increased or reloaded in exchange
   28  for payment, and that is redeemable upon presentation by a
   29  consumer at a single merchant, a group of affiliated merchants,
   30  or a group of unaffiliated merchants.
   31         (d) “Gift card redemption information” means information
   32  unique to each gift card which allows the cardholder to access,
   33  transfer, or spend the funds on that gift card.
   34         (e) “Gift card seller” means a merchant that is engaged in
   35  the business of selling gift cards to consumers.
   36         (f) “Value” means the greatest amount of economic loss the
   37  card issuer, gift card seller, or cardholder might reasonably
   38  suffer, including the full or maximum monetary face or load
   39  value of the gift card, regardless of whether the gift card has
   40  been activated.
   41         (2) It is unlawful for a person, with the intent to
   42  defraud:
   43         (a) To acquire or retain possession of a gift card or of
   44  gift card redemption information without the consent of the
   45  cardholder, card issuer, or gift card seller.
   46         (b) To alter or tamper with a gift card or its packaging.
   47         (c) To devise a scheme to obtain a gift card or gift card
   48  redemption information from a cardholder, card issuer, or gift
   49  card seller by means of false or fraudulent pretenses,
   50  representations, or promises.
   51         (d) To use, for the purpose of obtaining money, goods,
   52  services, or anything else of value, a gift card or gift card
   53  redemption information that has been obtained in violation of
   54  paragraph (a), paragraph (b), or paragraph (c).
   55         (3)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), a person who
   56  violates subsection (2) commits a misdemeanor of the first
   57  degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
   58         (b) If the value of the money, goods, services, or other
   59  things of value obtained as a result of violating subsection (2)
   60  exceeds $750, the person commits a felony of the third degree,
   61  punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
   62         Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2025.