Provides relief from liability of coerced debt for aggrieved person; assigns liability to pay debt to perpetrator of coerced debt.

A4651

ASSEMBLY, No. 4651

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MARCH 10, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman� AURA K. DUNN

District 25 (Morris and Passaic)

SYNOPSIS

���� Provides relief from liability of coerced debt for
aggrieved person; assigns liability to pay debt to perpetrator of coerced debt.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning coerced debt and supplementing Title 56 of
the Revised Statutes.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� a.� No person shall cause
another person to incur coerced debt.� A person aggrieved by a violation of
this act may bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction for relief
from coerced debt caused by a perpetrator of coerced debt.�

���� b.��� Upon a finding by a
court that a person is a perpetrator of coerced debt, and to the extent
permitted by federal law, the court shall issue an order:

���� (1) absolving the aggrieved
person of liability for the coerced debt;

���� (2) prohibiting any creditor
or collection agency from attempting to collect the coerced debt from the
aggrieved person;

���� (3) prohibiting a credit
bureau or credit reporting agency from using coerced debt in the calculation of
an aggrieved person�s credit score or rating;

���� (4) assigning the liability
for the coerced debt to the perpetrator of the coerced debt;

���� (5) requiring the perpetrator
of coerced debt to reimburse the aggrieved person for any financial loss
incurred as a result of the coerced debt; and

���� (6) any additional relief
available under State law.

���� c.���� An aggrieved person
whose debt has been absolved by a court order in accordance with this act shall
notify any reporting agency, collection agency, credit bureau, or other entity
to whom the creditor reported information concerning the debt that the debt is
the result of economic abuse or coerced debt and request that the reporting
agency remove from its files any reference to the debt or any portion of the
debt determined by the reporting agency, collection agency, credit bureau, or
other entity to be the result of economic abuse or coerced debt as that debt
relates to the aggrieved person.� Within 10 days from the date of receipt of
this notice, any reporting agency, collection agency, credit bureau, or other
entity shall take action to remove reference of the coerced debt as it relates
to the aggrieved person from its files and shall notify the creditor of the
court order.� Upon receipt of the court order, a creditor shall not pursue
collection of coerced debt from the aggrieved person.

���� d.��� A creditor, reporting
agency, collection agency, credit bureau, or other entity that violates this act
shall be liable in a civil action brought pursuant to this act for actual
damages and reasonable attorney�s fees.� Nothing in this act shall
be construed to prohibit a creditor from taking any action
to collect a debt from a perpetrator of coerced debt.

���� e.���� As used in this act:

���� �Coerced debt� means all or a
portion of debt in a debtor's name that has been incurred as a result of:

���� (1)�� the use of the debtor's
personal information without the debtor's knowledge, authorization, or consent;

���� (2)�� the use or threat of
force, intimidation, undue influence, fraud, deception, coercion, or other
similar means against the debtor; or

���� (3)�� economic abuse
perpetrated against the debtor.

���� Coerced debt does not include
secured debt.

���� �Creditor� means a person, or
the person's successor, assignee, or agent, claiming to own or have the right
to collect a debt owed by the debtor.

���� �Economic abuse� means
behavior that controls, restrains, restricts, impairs, or interferes with the
ability of a debtor to acquire, use, or maintain economic resources, including
but not limited to:

���� (1)�� withholding or
restricting access to, or the acquisition of, money, assets, credit, or
financial information;

���� (2)�� interfering with the
victim's ability to work and earn wages; or

���� (3)�� exerting undue influence
over a person's financial and economic behavior or decisions.

���� �Perpetrator of coerced debt�
means a person who causes coerced debt to be incurred by another.

���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill prohibits a person
from causing another person to incur coerced debt.� Under the bill, any person
aggrieved by a violation of the bill�s provisions may bring an action in a
court of competent jurisdiction for relief from any coerced debt caused by a
perpetrator of coerced debt.

���� Upon a finding by a court that
a person is a perpetrator of coerced debt, and to the extent permitted by
federal law, the court is required to issue an order:

���� (1) absolving the aggrieved
person of liability for the coerced debt;

���� (2) prohibiting any creditor
or collection agency from attempting to collect the coerced debt from the
aggrieved person;

���� (3) prohibiting a credit
bureau or credit reporting agency from using coerced debt in the calculation of
an aggrieved person�s credit score or rating;

���� (4) assigning the liability
for the coerced debt to the perpetrator of the coerced debt;

���� (5) requiring the perpetrator
of coerced debt to reimburse the aggrieved person for any financial loss
incurred as a result of the coerced debt; and

���� (6) any additional relief
available under State law.

���� Further, the bill prohibits a
creditor from continuing to pursue collection of coerced debt from an aggrieved
person, and it prohibits a reporting agency, collection agency, credit bureau,
or other entity to whom the creditor reported information concerning the debt
from using that information as it relates to the aggrieved person.� The bill
provides for penalties for violations of its provisions.� Nothing in the bill
is to be construed to prohibit a creditor from taking any action to collect a
debt from a perpetrator of coerced debt.