(1) A person is guilty of forgery if, with intent to injure or defraud: (a) He or she falsely makes, completes, or alters a written instrument or; (b) He or she possesses, utters, offers, disposes of, or puts off as true a written instrument which he or she knows to be forged.
(b) Pretends to be a representative of some person or organization or a public servant and does an act in his or her pretended capacity with intent to defraud another or for any other unlawful purpose. (2) Criminal impersonation in the first degree is a class C felony.
Other items such as letters of recommendation and works of art can also be punishable by being charged with Forgery. Forgery is considered a class C felony in the State of Washington. As such it is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
The first two degrees are felonies and the third degree amounts to a misdemeanor. The first degree forgery involves the actual presentation or use of any falsely made, altered or possessed document with the intent to deceive or defraud. The second degree forgery does not require use or presentation of the documents.
One example of forgery is when someone signs another person's name to a document without their permission or knowledge. Another example of forgery is when someone creates a false government document, such as a driver's license.
Proving forgery in court can be challenging since it often requires the testimony of an expert who has conducted a detailed examination of various elements of a document, such as the paper, they typed fonts, the date, handwriting and time sequences all in the context of the content of the document.
It's a Class A Misdemeanor when it involves forgery of an academic degree or coin which is punishable by less than 1 year in prison, probation, conditional discharge of up to 2 years, a fine of up to $2,500, and/or restitution However, if the degree explicitly states "for novelty purposes only," then no crime has ...
The prosecution will be able to prove the forgery through testimony of the victim as well as using a hand writing expert. That person will be able to compare the writing of the true owner of the check with that of the person who is being investigated.