Criminal Forgery and Fraud: Deception and Consequences

Making false claims or misrepresenting material facts to get money or something of value is fraud. When fraud involves using someone else’s signature, it is typically referred to as forgery. Criminal forgery and fraud can be felony crimes, depending on the level of theft. Criminal forgery is punishable by jail time, fines, and restitution payments.

Criminal forgery and fraud laws are different depending on the state. If you are facing misdemeanor or felony fraud charges, contact a criminal defense attorney for legal advice.

What Is Fraud?

Fraud is a misrepresentation or deception of a fact with the intent to use that deception to take someone else’s money or property.

For example, someone sells you a car and claims to be the owner. It later turns out that the car was stolen. After law enforcement recovers the vehicle, you lose the money you paid to the thief based on their misrepresentation.

What Is Criminal Forgery?

Criminal forgery is a type of fraud. Generally, forgery involves trying to pass off a false document, written instrument, or signature. For example, if you try to alter a check made out to someone else to cash the check, it could be a forgery. Using a stolen prescription drug pad and forging a doctor’s signature to get drugs could also be forgery.

Forgery can involve tampering with or falsifying different types of forged instruments, including driver’s licenses, Social Security numbers, or identification cards.

What Are Different Types of Fraud and Forgery?

Fraud and forgery are types of white-collar crime. There are many different types of fraud involving forgery. Anywhere there is access to money, there can be fraudulent use and forgery. This includes:

• Insurance fraud
• Credit card fraud
• Identity theft
• Health care fraud
• Securities fraud
• Financial institution fraud
• Check fraud (writing bad checks)
• Debit card fraud

What Are the Penalties for Forgery and Fraud?

The criminal penalties for criminal forgery and fraud can depend on several factors. This includes:

• State law
• Value of the property stolen
• The type of victims (government agencies or elderly victims)
• The number of victims
• Other criminal acts
• Prior criminal record

Low-level forgery can be a misdemeanor criminal offense. The penalties for misdemeanor fraud generally include up to a year in jail, fines, restitution, and probation. More serious fraud can be a felony. First-degree or second-degree fraud can include three or more years in prison.

Fraud can also be a civil offense. The victim of fraud could sue you in civil court to recover the payment of money or lost goods. There are no criminal penalties for a civil fraud claim. However, the burden of proof is lower. If you lose a civil trial, you may have to pay for any alleged fraud damages.

How Can I Fight Criminal Forgery and Fraud Charges?

There are legal defenses to fraud and forgery charges. Fraud generally requires an intent to defraud. If you made a mistake about a material misrepresentation, it may not be fraud. For example, if you told someone a stock would go up and the stock went down, it may have been a false statement. However, if you did not know the stock would go down, there is no intent to defraud.

The false statement also has to be reasonably relied upon. For example, offering to sell someone a unicorn might not be fraud because believing in unicorns may not be reasonable. For more legal defense strategies in a fraud case, talk to your criminal defense attorney.

How Can a Lawyer Help in a Fraud Case?

If you are accused of fraud or forgery, a criminal defense lawyer can give you legal advice. Your attorney can represent you in any questioning by law enforcement agencies. Your attorney can help you understand the criminal court process and your legal options. If you are charged in court, your attorney can defend you in a criminal fraud trial.

Your lawyer can also negotiate a plea agreement in an attempt to reduce the charges or avoid jail time. For more information about your legal rights in a criminal trial, talk to an experienced criminal defense lawyer.