2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 167b - Electronic Branches and Electronic Fund Transfers › Section 21 - Violations; Arrest Without Warrant

Section 21. (a) Whoever knowingly and willfully:
(1) gives false or inaccurate information or fails to provide information which he is required to disclose by this chapter or any regulation issued thereunder; or
(2) otherwise fails to comply with any provision of this chapter; shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both such fine and imprisonment.
(b) Whoever, with intent to defraud:
(1) makes or causes to be made, either directly or indirectly, any false statement as to a material fact in writing, knowing it to be false and with intent that it be relied on, respecting his identity or that of any other person, or his financial condition or that of any other person, for the purpose of procuring the issuance of an access device;
(2) takes such access device from the person, possession, custody or control of another without the access device holder's consent by any conduct which would constitute larceny, or who, with knowledge that it has been so taken, receives the access device with intent to use it or to sell it, or to transfer it to a person other than the issuer or access device holder;
(3) receives an access device that he knows to have been lost, mislaid, or delivered under a mistake as to the identity or address of the access device holder, and who retains possession with intent to use it or to sell it or to transfer it to a person other than the issuer or the access device holder;
(4) being a person other than the issuer or his authorized agent, sells an access device, or buys such access device from a person other than the issuer or his authorized agent, or
(5) being a person other than the access device holder or a person authorized by him, signs an access device, if such signature is a prerequisite to use;
(6) uses, for the purpose of obtaining money, goods, services or anything else of value, an access device obtained or retained in violation of clauses (2) to (5), inclusive, or an access device which he knows is forged, expired, or revoked, where the value of money, goods or services obtained in violation of this section is not in excess of one hundred dollars;
(7) obtains money, goods, services or anything else of value by representing without the consent of the access device holder that he is said holder or by representing that he is the holder of an access device and such access device has not in fact been issued, where the value of money, goods or services obtained is not in excess of one hundred dollars;
(8) being a person authorized by an issuer to furnish money, goods, services or anything else of value upon presentation of an access device by the access device holder, or any agent or employee of such person, furnishes money, goods, services or anything else of value upon presentation of an access device which he knows was obtained or retained in violation of clauses (2) to (5), inclusive, or an access device which he knows is forged, expired or revoked where the value of the goods or services obtained is not in excess of one hundred dollars.
(9) being a person who is authorized by an issuer to furnish money, goods, services or anything else of value upon presentation of an access device by the access device holder, or any agent or employee of such person, fails to furnish money, goods, services or anything else of value which he represents in writing to the issuer that he has furnished, and the difference between the value of all money, goods, services and anything else of value actually furnished and the value represented to the issuer to have been furnished does not exceed one hundred dollars;
(10) receives money, goods, services or anything else of value obtained in violation of clauses (6) to (9), inclusive, or
(11) having knowledge of the computer aspects of an electronic funds transfer system and access to the machinery involved in its operation, obtains money, goods, services or anything else of value not in excess of one hundred dollars by unauthorized use of such system; shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for not more than one year, or both such fine and imprisonment.
Whoever has in his possession or under his control stolen access devices issued in the names of four or more other persons shall be presumed to have violated clause (2).
Whoever is discovered by a police officer in the act of violating this section, while such officer is lawfully at or within the place where such violation occurs, may be arrested without a warrant by such police officer.
(c) Whoever, with intent to defraud:—
(1) obtains control over an access device as security for debt;
(2) receives an access device which he knows was taken or retained under circumstances which constitute theft or a violation of clause (1) or (4) of subsection (b) or clause (1) of this subsection, or
(3) falsely makes or falsely embosses a purported access device or utters such an access device;
(4) obtains money, goods, services or anything else of value by use of an access device obtained or retained in violation of clauses (2) and (5), inclusive, of subsection (b), or by use of an access device which he knows is forged, expired or revoked, where the value of the money, goods or services obtained in violation of this section is in excess of one hundred dollars;
(5) obtains money, goods, services or anything else of value by representing without the consent of the access device holder that he is said holder or by representing that he is the holder of an access device and such access device has not in fact been issued, where the value of money, goods or services obtained in violation of this section is in excess of one hundred dollars;
(6) being a person authorized by an issuer to furnish money, goods, services or anything else of value upon presentation of an access device which he knows was obtained in violation of clauses (2) to (5) of subsection (b), or an access device which he knows is forged, expired or revoked, when the value of the money, goods or services obtained is in excess of one hundred dollars;
(7) being a person authorized by an issuer to furnish money, goods, services or anything else of value upon presentation of an access device by the access device holder, or an agent or employee of such person, fails to furnish money, goods, services or anything else of value which he represents in writing to the issuer that he has furnished, and the difference between the value of all money, goods, services and anything else of value actually furnished and the value represented to the issuer to have been furnished exceeds one hundred dollars;
(8) receives money, goods, services or anything else of value in excess of one hundred dollars obtained in violation of clause (6) or (7) of subsection (b), or
(9) possesses one or more incomplete access devices, intending to complete them without the consent of the issuer;
(10) possesses, with knowledge of its character, machinery, plates or any other contrivance designed to reproduce instruments purporting to be the access devices of an issuer who has not consented to the preparation of such access devices, or
(11) having knowledge of the computer aspects of an electronic funds transfer system and access to the machinery involved in its operation, obtains money, goods, services or anything else of value in excess of one hundred dollars by an unauthorized use of such system; shall be punished by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than ten years, or both such fine and imprisonment.
Whoever has in his possession or under his control four or more access devices which are falsely embossed shall be presumed to have violated clause (3).
Whoever is discovered by a police officer in the act of violating this section, while such officer is lawfully at or within the place where such violation occurs, may be arrested without a warrant by such police officer.