Forgery Laws

Documents with legal meaning confer key rights and obligations. When one of these documents is faked or altered, it can cause substantial harm. To deter this type of conduct, states prohibit forgery and related crimes. While making a false ID or faking someone else’s signature may seem like a small thing, a forgery conviction may result in imprisonment and damage to personal and professional reputation. Thus, someone accused of this crime should consult an attorney, even if they have not been charged. They should not try to talk their way out of the problem on their own. This might result in unintentionally weakening their defense.

What Is Forgery?

Forgery generally involves faking a document with legal significance in an effort to defraud someone else.

Elements of Forgery

While definitions of forgery vary by state, a prosecutor often needs to prove that the defendant created a false writing that has legal meaning, or falsified an existing writing of that nature. Using or possessing a forged instrument also may be considered forgery, or these acts may be labeled as separate crimes. For any of these charges, the prosecutor also must prove a mental state element. This usually involves a fraudulent intent.

Examples of Forgery

Phil is an art dealer who buys a work in the style of a famous artist. He makes a fake certificate of authenticity, planning to sell the work as though it were a work by that artist.

Penelope wants the high that she gets from a certain prescription drug. When her doctor refuses to give her a prescription, she makes a fake prescription form and presents it to a pharmacist.

Offenses Related to Forgery

Some other offenses that might be charged in situations similar to those supporting a forgery charge include:

• Fraud: getting something of value through false statements, deceptions, or other misrepresentations
• Blackmail or extortion: perhaps someone was coerced into forging an instrument, or accepting a forged instrument, because of a threat
• Bribery: perhaps someone in an official position was given compensation to forge an instrument or accept a forged instrument

An investigation might reveal multiple potential crimes. A prosecutor might use additional charges as a bargaining chip in negotiations to try to induce a guilty plea from a defendant.

Defenses to Forgery

A defendant charged with forgery might attack either of the main elements of the crime. They might argue that the writing did not have legal significance, for example, or they might argue that they did not have a fraudulent intent. A defendant might have believed that they had consent or another form of authorization to alter an instrument. Even if they were wrong in this belief, an honest mistake could defeat the charge.

Sometimes a defendant might argue that they were falsely accused or that someone else committed the crime. They also might fight a charge by alleging violations of their constitutional rights. If the police seized evidence in a search that did not comply with the Fourth Amendment, for example, a prosecutor likely could not use this evidence in court.

Penalties for Forgery

Forgery is often a felony, which means that a defendant may face years in prison. Here is a selection of sentencing ranges under the main forgery statutes in various states:

• Arizona: 1.5-3 years (2.5 years presumptive)
• Colorado: 1-3 years
• Florida: up to 5 years
• Illinois: 2-5 years
• Missouri: up to 7 years
• Ohio: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12 months
• Washington: up to 5 years

Some states divide the main forgery offense into degrees, based on the type of instrument forged. For example, New York has three degrees of forgery. First-degree forgery, which involves instruments such as stocks or bonds, is a class C felony. Second-degree forgery, which involves instruments such as deeds, wills, and credit cards, is a class D felony. Third-degree forgery, which involves written instruments not described in one of the other two statutes, is a class A misdemeanor. A class C felony carries a minimum term of 1-5 years, a class D felony carries a minimum term of 1-2.33 years, and a class A misdemeanor carries up to 364 days.

Last reviewed September 2024