N.J. Admin. Code § 10:90-7.5

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 16, August 19, 2024

Section 10:90-7.5 - Lost or stolen benefits

(a) Upon notification from a recipient that his or her WFNJ benefits have been lost or stolen, the county/municipal agency shall immediately secure the recipient's affidavit of the facts and circumstances. In a situation in which the benefits were issued by check, the county/ municipal agency shall file a stop payment order with the bank. Within 10 working days, the county/municipal agency shall either issue a duplicate check or provide written notice that the check shall not be replaced. The notice will be provided in accordance with N.J.A.C. 10:90-9 concerning notices and fair hearings.

(b) The county/municipal agency shall decline to issue a replacement check when any of the following exists:

1. The payee of the check fails or refuses to make a report to the local police about a stolen check or fails or refuses to cooperate in a police investigation;

2. The payee of the check fails or refuses to provide an affidavit of the facts and circumstances of the loss or theft;

3. The endorsement on the original check is certified to be that of the payee by a person qualified to present expert testimony in handwriting analysis before the New Jersey courts. Such expertise may be available through or from the New Jersey State Police, the Office of the Attorney General, a county prosecutor, a member of the American Society of Questioned Document Examiners or a member of the National Association of Document Examiners; or

4. The identification of the person cashing the original check as the payee or representative of the payee is convincingly established by one or more mechanical or procedural methods such as a photograph, a videotape, or the recording at the time of the transaction of the number of an ID card which has not been reported lost or stolen.

(c) In any situation in which an original check is later returned bearing the true endorsement of the intended payee, the agency will shall honor the check, even though a stop payment order may have interfered with its negotiation, provided 10 calendar days prior to honoring the check the intended payee is afforded advance written notice and an opportunity to contest the intended action. The county/municipal agency shall refuse to honor an original check which is returned without the true endorsement of the intended payee, the effectiveness of a stop payment order notwithstanding.

(d) In any situation in which the issuance of a duplicate check in accordance with (a) above produces a payment in excess of authorized amounts, the agency shall observe N.J.A.C. 10:90-3 and 11, as appropriate.

(e) In a situation in which benefits are issued by way of the EBT system the county/municipal agency shall follow the policies and procedures governing the replacement of benefits and EBT cards as found in N.J.A.C. 10:88-6.

N.J. Admin. Code § 10:90-7.5

Amended by R.1998 d.42, effective 1/20/1998.
See: 29 New Jersey Register 3971(b), 30 New Jersey Register 389(a).
Amended by R.2003 d.226, effective 6/16/2003.
See: 34 New Jersey Register 2713(a), 35 New Jersey Register 2670(a).
In (a), rewrote the second sentence; rewrote (e).