Also known as: forgeries · falsification · counterfeiting
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The fraudulent making or altering of a writing so that it purports to be the act of another who did not authorize it, done with intent to defraud.
Fiona Foster forged signatures on corporate bonds so that they purported to be the act of the company treasurer who had not authorized them. She sold several bonds to investors before federal agents traced the instruments to her workshop. The agents seized the documents and arrested her for the federal offense of forgery.
Felix Franco received a check from a customer that bore an apparent alteration of the payee line. He deposited the instrument without noticing the irregularity and later claimed holder-in-due-course status when the bank dishonored it. The bank produced evidence that the alteration was visible on its face, defeating his claim.
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Faye Fuller left her checkbook unlocked in a shared office space for weeks. An employee used one of her checks to forge her signature and withdraw funds. When the bank paid the forged item, Fuller could not recover the loss because her failure to safeguard the checks substantially contributed to the forgery.
Freya Freeman was convicted of forgery in state court and later moved to a new city without registering as required by local ordinance. Police arrested her years afterward on an unrelated matter and discovered the registration violation. She challenged the conviction on due-process grounds because the registration duty applied automatically to her prior forgery offense.
Frank Fisher faced trial on forgery charges involving disputed handwriting on several documents. His appointed counsel requested state funds for a handwriting expert to rebut the prosecution's analysis. The trial court denied the request, leaving Fisher without the means to challenge the authenticity evidence at trial.
Farid Farahani was charged with uttering a single forged check for eighty-eight dollars. The prosecutor offered a five-year sentence in exchange for a guilty plea and warned that refusal would trigger a recidivist indictment carrying a life term. Farahani rejected the offer and proceeded to trial on the forgery count.
Forgery requires making or altering a writing, the writing must be false in what it purports to be, and the defendant must act with intent to defraud. The prosecution need not prove actual loss or pecuniary harm. Any writing with apparent legal significance can be the subject of forgery.
A person commits forgery if, with purpose to defraud or injure anyone or with knowledge that he is facilitating a fraud, the actor alters a writing of another without authority or makes or transfers a writing so that it purports to be the act of another who did not authorize it.
A person whose failure to exercise ordinary care substantially contributes to the making of a forged signature is precluded from asserting the forgery against a good-faith payor or taker for value. The loss may be allocated if both parties fail to exercise ordinary care.
No. The intent to defraud is sufficient even if no one suffers loss or the instrument is never used. The crime is complete upon the making or altering with the requisite intent.
…Kentucky law, this offense was punishable by a prison term of from 2 to 10 years, apparently without regard to the amount of the forgery. During the course of plea bargaining, the prosecutor offered respondent a sentence of five years in consideration of a guilty plea. I observe, at this point, that five years in prison for…