7. For purposes of grading, the amount involved in a theft under this chapter is the highest value by any reasonable standard, regardless of the actor's knowledge of such value, of the property or services which were stolen by the actor, or which the actor believed that the actor was stealing, or which the actor could reasonably have anticipated to have been the property or services involved. Thefts committed pursuant to one scheme or course of conduct, whether from the same person or several persons, may be charged as one offense and the amounts proved to have been stolen may be aggregated in determining the grade of the offense.
SECTION 2. AMENDMENT. Section 12.1-23-10 of the North Dakota Century Code is amended and reenacted as follows:
12.1-23-10. Definitions for theft and related offenses.
In this chapter:
1. "Dealer in property" means a person who buys or sells property as a business.
2. "Deception" means:
a. Creating or reinforcing a false impression as to fact, law, status, value, intention, or other state of mind; or obtaining or attempting to obtain public assistance by concealing a material fact, making a false statement or representation, impersonating another, concealing the transfer of property without adequate consideration, or using any other fraudulent method; but deception as to a person's intention to perform a promise may not be inferred from the fact alone that the person did not substantially perform the promise unless it is part of a continuing scheme to defraud;
b. Preventing another from acquiring information which would affect his judgment of a transaction;
c. Failing to correct a false impression which the actor previously created or reinforced, or which he knows to be influencing another to whom he stands in a fiduciary or confidential relationship;
d. Failing to correct an impression which the actor previously created or reinforced and which the actor knows to have become false due to subsequent events;
e. Failing to disclose a lien, adverse claim, or other impediment to the enjoyment of property which he transfers or encumbers in consideration for the property obtained or in order to continue to deprive another of his property, whether such impediment is or is not valid, or is or is not a matter of official record;
f. Using a credit card, charge plate, or any other instrument which purports to evidence an undertaking to pay for property or services delivered or rendered to or upon the order of a designated person or bearer (1) where such instrument has been stolen, forged, revoked, or canceled, or where for any other reason its use by the actor is unauthorized, and (2) where the actor does not have the intention and ability to meet all obligations to the issuer arising out of his use of the instrument; or
