Official Summary Text
HB2970 - 572R - Senate Fact Sheet
Assigned to
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COMMITTEE
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh
Legislature, Second Regular Session
FACT SHEET FOR
H.B. 2970
fraudulent schemes;
artifices; jurisdiction
Purpose
Stipulates that,
in a prosecution for fraudulent schemes or artifices, the state is not required
to establish that all of the unlawful acts occurred in Arizona or within a
single city, town, county or local jurisdiction of Arizona, and that it is not
a defense that not all of the unlawful acts occurred in Arizona or within
political subdivisions of Arizona.
Background
A person who, in
accordance with a scheme or artifice to defraud, knowingly obtains any benefit
by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, promises or
material omissions is guilty of a class 2 felony. Reliance on the part of any
person is not a necessary element of an offense. A person convicted of a
violation involving a benefit with a value of $100,000 or greater, or a
violation involving the manufacture, sale or marketing of opioids, is not
eligible for a suspension of sentence, probation, pardon or release from
confinement on any basis unless otherwise authorized. A scheme or artifice to
defraud includes a scheme or artifice to deprive a person of the intangible
right of honest services (
A.R.S.
� 13-2310
). In determining the classification of the offense, the state may
aggregate the indictment or information amounts taken in thefts committed in
accordance with one scheme or course of conduct, whether the amounts were taken
from one or several persons (
A.R.S.
� 13-1801
).
For a first-time
felony offender, a class 2 felony carries a presumptive imprisonment sentence
of 5 years and a fine of not more than $150,000 to be determined by the court
(A.R.S.
��
13-702
and
13-801
).
There is no
anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this
legislation.
Provisions
1.
Stipulates that, in a prosecution for fraudulent schemes and artifices,
the state is only required to establish that one of the acts that constitute a
violation occurred in Arizona or within a single city, town, county or local
jurisdiction of Arizona.
2.
Stipulates that, in a prosecution for fraudulent schemes and artifices,
the state is not required to establish that all of the acts that constitute a
violation occurred in Arizona or within a single city, town, county or local
jurisdiction of Arizona.
3.
Specifies that it is not a defense that not all of the acts that
constitute the offense occurred in Arizona or within a single city, town,
county or local jurisdiction of Arizona.
4.
Makes technical and conforming changes.
5.
Becomes effective on the general effective date.
House Action
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Prepared by Senate Research
March 20, 2026
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Current Bill Text
Read the full stored bill text
HB2970 - 572R - H Ver
House Engrossed
fraudulent schemes;
artifices; jurisdiction
State of Arizona
House of Representatives
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
HOUSE BILL 2970
AN
ACT
AMENDING SECTION 13-2310, ARIZONA REVISED
STATUTES; RELATING TO FRAUDULENT
SCHEMES AND ARTIFICES.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it
enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 13-2310, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
13-2310.
Fraudulent schemes and artifices; classification; definition
A.
Any
A
person
who, pursuant to a scheme or artifice to defraud, knowingly obtains any benefit
by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, promises or
material omissions is guilty of a class 2 felony.
B. Reliance on the part of any person shall not be a
necessary element of the offense described in subsection A of this section.
C. A person who is convicted of a violation of this
section that involved a benefit with a value of
one hundred
thousand dollars
$100,000
or more or the
manufacture, sale or marketing of opioids is not eligible for suspension of
sentence, probation, pardon or release from confinement on any basis except
pursuant to section 31-233, subsection A or B until the sentence imposed
by the court has been served, the person is eligible for release pursuant to
section 41-1604.07 or the sentence is commuted.
D. This state shall apply the aggregation prescribed
by section 13-1801, subsection B to violations of this section in
determining the applicable punishment.
E. In a prosecution for a violation
of this section,
this state is only required to establish
that one of the acts that constitutes a violation of this section occurred in
this state or within a single city, town, county or local jurisdiction of this
state. this state is not required to establish that all of the acts
that constitute the violation of this section occurred in this state or within
a single city, town, county or local jurisdiction of this state. It
is not a defense to a prosecution for a violation of this section that not all
of the acts that constitute the violation of this section occurred in this
state or within a single city, town, county or local jurisdiction of this
state.
E.
F.
For
the purposes of this section, "scheme or artifice to defraud"
includes a scheme or artifice to deprive a person of the intangible right of
honest services.
END_STATUTE