3. Definition
Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating
objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive for
the sake of altering the public perception, or to earn profit by
selling the forged item. Copies, studio replicas, and
reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may
later become forgeries through knowing and
willful misrepresentations. Forging money or currency is more
often called counterfeiting.
4. Element of forgery
Making, Altering, using or Possessing a Forged item
• In forgery case, the individual must have made, altered, used or possessed a
false writing at some point in time.
Legal Efficacy
• This Includes ‘Government Issued Identification, Deeds, Conveyances,
Check, Stock certificate, Patents, Wills, Prescriptions, Other medical
documents’.
Material Alternation
• In order for writing to fall under the definition of false, the material include
must have been fabricated or altered significantly in order to represent
somethings it is actually not.
5. Types of Forgery
There is a wide range of documents can be forged,
but some are more common than others. Some of the
most types of forgery involve signature and
prescriptions.
Signature Forgery
Prescription Forgery
Art Forgery
Federal Forgery
6. Affidavit of Forgery
An affidavit of forgery is a legal document
completed by a victim of fraud. Financial
institutions and police departments often
have the victims fill out the form and have
it notarized. The affidavit of forgery is also
used to help victims recover losses that
occurred as a result of the forgery crime.
7. Common Forgery Punishment
The judicial system often considers certain things during the
sentencing portion of a criminal trial including:-
Defendant’s criminal history.
The type of document.
What the defendant gained or attempted to gain with the forgery.
Whether the defendant has attempted to right his wrong.
8. Examples
The David Stein Forgeries
In the 1960s, David Stein made a living traveling from city
to city, selling paintings that he claimed were done by
European masters. Since the artists’ signatures were in
place, many people fell for the scam. In 1967, one of
these artists, Marc Chagall, saw three paintings in a New
York City gallery containing his name. He knew these
were not his works and he contacted the police. Stein
was arrested and spend 22 years in jail.