On the white-collar crime front, forgery is much more than a forged signature. It is an advanced form of fraud, involving the creation or physical modification of documents, like checks, deeds, and medical prescriptions, with the specific aim of defrauding. Although forgery is classified as a non-violent offense, a conviction for forgery can be a devastating blow to one’s reputation. In most cases, it results in significant fines, restitution, and potential imprisonment.
Outside the courtroom, the paper trail associated with the charge of forgery can leave your professional image permanently stained, licenses revoked, and future career opportunities denied. The specifics of your defense are crucial, as the prosecution must prove criminal intent. The difference between a dismissed case and a life-altering felony often hinges on critical legal nuances.
You do not want to risk your liberty in case you are accused of forgery. At CCLG: Los Angeles Criminal Attorney, we specialize in deconstructing complex white-collar cases and challenging the prosecution’s evidence at every turn.
How California Law Defines White-Collar Forgery
Fraud in California is a complex white-collar crime, primarily regulated by Penal Code Section 470. Although most people would refer to forgery only as the act of falsifying a signature, the legal definition of the term is much broader. It includes the creation, modification, or use of any type of document with the express purpose of defrauding.
A forgery occurs when a person commits forgery if they perform any of the following acts with fraudulent intent:
- Signing another person’s name or a fictitious person’s name to a document without legal authority (PC 470(a))
- Falsifies or counterfeits the seal of the government agency, a notary, or the unique handwriting of another person (PC 470(b))
- Corrupts or falsifies or changes the record of a will, a conveyance, a codicil, or a court judgment (PC 470(c))
- Falsifies, alters, or presents some specific financial or legal instruments, as specified under Penal Code section 470.
Some common forgery types include:
- Signature forgery — Where a person signs the name of an employer on a business document without authorization
- Material alteration — Where an individual modifies the terms of a lawful document, such as adding a zero to a $10 check to make it a $100 check
- Forging seals — For example, applying a forged seal on a deed of land and forging
- Altering a prescription under Health and Safety Code section 11368 — Health and Safety Code 11368 defines forging or tampering with a prescription of a narcotic drug as a crime, which includes signing the name of a doctor or altering the dosage in a valid prescription.
The law also mentions specific documents, and if they are forged, they can lead to criminal accusations. These are:
- Financial documents such as:
- Checks
- Money orders
- Traveler’s checks
- Bank bills
- Property and legal documents such as:
- Deeds
- Leases
- Mortgages
- Wills
- Documents of official authority, like power of attorney documents and codicils
- There are also miscellaneous items, including lottery tickets, stock certificates, and bonds, that fall under this statute.
More importantly, a conviction does not require the physical act of signing or altering a document. It can be established through other means. The prosecution needs only to demonstrate intent to defraud. That is, you acted with the intent to defraud somebody to deprive the victim of money, property, or a legal right. In the absence of this motive, the act does not constitute forgery under the law.
The distinction between a legal signature and a criminal act is sometimes extremely narrow. Every person being investigated for forgery in California faces technical legal definitions that require a thorough understanding of the state’s penal code.
“Uttering” a Forged Instrument (PC 470d)
Besides the forgery of the documents, California legislation expressly criminalizes the use of the forged documents by the legal term known as uttering. There is a significant difference in white-collar prosecution, where the range of individuals prosecuted for forgery extends beyond the individual who prepared the falsification.
According to the Penal Code 470(d), uttering means the passing, publication, or offering of a forged document as a true and genuine one. It occurs when one individual asserts to another that a document is authentic, either verbally or through their actions.
The falsification of a signature or a document does not require the involvement of the person who also falsifies it to be guilty of forgery. When an individual receives a forged check from a colleague and attempts to cash it at the bank, knowing it is forged, they are committing the criminal offense of uttering a forged instrument. To the law, it makes no difference whether you are using the document or being the person making it.
The utterance crime is said to be fulfilled when the document is provided to a person or institution. According to the California law, you do not have to demonstrate that you actually obtained money or property from the prosecution. If a forged prescription is given to the pharmacist and the latter identifies it, calls the police, and does not fill the prescription, then the offense is complete. This very act of presenting the instrument as true will suffice for the legal condition of the charge.
What the Prosecutors Have to Prove in a Forgery Case
To secure a conviction based on PC 470, the prosecution must prove several elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. The four key elements are:
- The act — You should have falsely prepared, modified, forged, or faked a document or signed the name of another person (or an alias name) to a document. It also involves the utterance or assignment of a forged document as authentic.
- Lack of authority — The prosecution will have to demonstrate that you lacked the legal right or authorization to commit the act (for example, you signed a check without the consent of the account holder).
- Knowledge — You must have known that the document was a fake, counterfeit, or altered when using or producing the document. When you unknowingly deal with a forged check, you do not have the necessary guilty knowledge to be convicted.
- Intent to defraud — This is the most important and the most disputed aspect. The prosecutor should demonstrate that you had the particular intent to defraud another individual or institution to induce a loss in terms of money, property, or legal rights.
More importantly, you cannot sign or alter a document physically and still be convicted. The prosecution must demonstrate an intent to defraud. That is, you acted with the intent to defraud someone, depriving them of money, property, or even a legal right. California law makes it technically complete immediately the fraudulent intent act is committed, regardless of whether a person was actually defrauded and whether any financial loss was incurred.
Unless it is done with this intent, the act is not a legal forgery. For example, one can defend against such charges by signing a memo with the name of a supervisor, assuming they believe they have the approval to do so. The distinction between a legitimate signature and a criminal offence is sometimes a matter of fine detail. Every person who is under investigation for forgery is exposed to technical legal provisions that require a thorough understanding of the state’s penal code.
Is Forgery a Misdemeanor or Felony?
In California, forgery is classified as a “wobbler” offense. This means it can be classified as either a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the specific circumstances of the case and the defendant’s prior criminal record. Nevertheless, state regulations have strict provisions regarding the filing of these charges.
With the provisions of Proposition 47, a forged instrument that is a check, bond, or other commercial document, where the value of the check is less than $950, should typically be prosecuted as a misdemeanor. This carries:
- A maximum sentence of up to one year in county jail
- A fine of up to $1,000
The $950 threshold is not applicable in case you are convicted of identity theft as well (PC 530.5). When identity theft and forgery are meaningfully related, a small amount of dollars can result in felony charges being pursued by the prosecution.
Charging the crime as a felony may be applied in cases where the value exceeds $950, you have a previous strike offense, or you are a registered sex offender. Conviction of a felony can be followed by punishment of:
- 16 months, two years, or three years imprisonment
- Fines up to $10,000
A judge can sentence an individual to probation instead of a lengthy jail term, depending on the level of conviction. Misdemeanors are typically placed on informal (summary) probation and do not require reporting to a probation officer. Formal (felony) probation is characterized by close supervision, frequent visits from a probation officer, and other special conditions, like restitution or community service.
Sentencing Enhancements and Related Charges
In addition to the fundamental charge of forgery, various penalties may be increased or criminal charges added. These are the enhancements that prosecutors typically rely on to pursue high-value fraud or schemes against vulnerable populations:
- The white-collar crime enhancement (PC 186.11) — This enhancement is also referred to as the Freeze and Seize law. It is applicable to patterns of related felony behavior involving fraud or embezzlement. When the scheme involves over two related felonies and the loss exceeds $100,000, the court may add one to five years to your state prison term and seize your assets to fund restitution.
- Financial elder abuse (PC 368) — If the victim of the forgery is 65 years or older, you can be charged with both financial elder abuse and forgery. Since the elderly are deemed to be a privileged group, faking a will, property deed, or check of a senior is likely to result in a more substantial penalty, a potential enhanced sentencing exposure in prison, and more significant fines.
- Check fraud (PC 476) — Although PC 470 is the overall forgery law, PC 476 is specifically related to the creation, issuance, or retention of a fake check. Since the forgeries that are most often committed are those of checks, prosecutors tend to prosecute both laws simultaneously. This ensures a conviction, although the punishments associated with both are usually similar.
- Criminal street gang enhancement (PC 186.22) — Provided that the prosecution can establish that the forgery was done on behalf of, at the direction of, or in connection with a criminal street gang, you could be sentenced to two to four years of state prison on top of the underlying sentence of forgery.
Forgery Defense Strategies
A forgery charge is an issue that demands a strategic approach to the law of intent, power, and physical evidence. Due to the burden of proof that the law imposes, there are several special defenses that your defense attorney can use to counter the prosecution’s narrative. With this knowledge, you will be able to more accurately recognize what types of legal safeguards would apply to your particular scenario and how you can challenge the prosecution’s burden of proof of not proving you guilty.
- Lack of Intent to Defraud
Forgery is a type of crime that is classified as a specific intent crime in that the prosecution must prove that you had the express intention of defrauding or injuring another party. This is an essential protection. It is impractical to prove that you physically altered a document or even signed a name. However, without demonstrating bad-faith intention to do so, the state cannot secure a conviction.
When you dealt with a signature or altered a value under a “mistake of fact,” for example, when you dealt with checks that you honestly thought were good, or when you dealt with paperwork as part of an elaborate employment fraud, the criminal mind, or mens rea, is missing.
This defense helps transform you from an offender to an innocent actor, or even a secondary victim of a larger plot.
The rationality of this defense can be applied to the cases of satire, theatrical props, parody, or novelty items that are made without the purpose of exchanging them for the real value or legal consideration.
The criminal charges tend to collapse when you demonstrate that you did not have a desire to receive an unfair advantage or inflict financial loss on an individual or an institution. In most instances, you may have corrected or signed a signature because you had assumed that you were, in fact, assisting the victim or following a set protocol that you thought was legal. This demonstration of non-intent creates a shift in the trial’s focus, leaving the physical action you have taken behind and focusing on the internal action of your motivation.
Because the prosecution must establish intent beyond a reasonable doubt, a credible account of good faith or honest error remains the most effective method of meeting the very high standard of specific intent. It allows for an acquittal or a reduction in charges.
- Authorization and Consent
The focus of this strategy is on the principles of authorization and consent. It states that what you did was lawful because the alleged victim authorized it. By law, an individual who signs on behalf of another commits the signature as his/her own act. Your actions, therefore, do not amount to a false writing but a legitimate exercise of an agency relationship. This defense is what transforms this story from one of criminal deception to a tale of administrative or personal assistance.
Regardless of the formal power of attorney, a written agreement, or an agreed-upon oral and verbal agreement, authorization obviates the falsity element necessary to prove a forgery. If the individual whose name is mentioned on the document signed it, then no crime was committed, since the document is legal and accurately reflects the individual’s will.
The key to successfully asserting this defense is sometimes to shift the burden of proof onto the prosecution. Although the state initially claims that a signature has been forged, your presentation of evidence, like a previous history of signed permits or an established pattern of business, serves as an obstacle to the state. You can show that you had a course of dealing and dealt with the accuser habitually in financial or legal matters. Introducing prior emails, text messages, or witness testimony to confirm that the accuser regularly used to permit you to sign on behalf of the accuser out of convenience or necessity compels the prosecution to demonstrate that, beyond a reasonable doubt, he/she did not do so in this particular case. This is a strategy that often discredits the accuser, particularly when their statement appears to be a form of retaliation following a personal or professional conflict.
Moreover, the law acknowledges the right of apparent authority where the third party reasonably holds the view that you can act, given the behavior of the accuser. Even in the absence of a formal written agreement, your defense attorney can argue that the accuser’s past behavior created the atmosphere of implied consent. When the accuser had an interest in your actions in the past and had never objected to your signature, their new claim of forgery in a legal contest is not really very weighty.
This defense is especially effective in familial relationships or other business relationships where formal documentation is often omitted to achieve efficiency. By reminding them of how the relationship was collaborative and that there was no intent on your part to conceal the signature on behalf of the end-user party, you will have shown that what you did was an exercise of granted power and not a fraudulent act of attempting to defraud the law. You are technically not a forger, but one authorized to act within the context of a good-faith relationship.
- Forensic Analysis and Physical Impossibility
You can call into question the physical authenticity of the state’s evidence using the technique of physical impossibility, given the improvements in forensic document examination. Experts in the field of handwriting analysis can examine the nature of the handwriting, including the pressure of the pen, the rhythm of the strokes, and the slant, among other factors. These aim to prove that you could not have written the signature in question. This is a scientific methodology that enables the trial to be removed from the realm of subjective testimony and into the realm of objective evidence. It will reveal discrepancies that may indicate a simulation being conducted by another person.
Moreover, alibi evidence supports this physical defense, as it demonstrates that you did not have access to the materials or the location where the crime was committed. When you prove that you were in another geographical area at the time that the forgery allegedly took place, the time frame of the prosecution breaks down. This creates doubt through in-depth scientific analysis and facts of time, supporting a finding of innocence.
- Lack of Materiality
The lack of materiality defense focuses on a crucial legal provision: to secure a conviction for forgery, the alteration must be material. That is, it should be able to alter the legal impact of the document or put someone at a disadvantaged position. If you make a change that does not alter the underlying rights, obligations, or liabilities of the parties involved, the law views that act as legally insignificant. This defense argues that, in the event of an unauthorized change, it did not alter the document to something it was not and did not pose a risk of fraud or financial loss. Since the legal system is not concerned with trifles or technicalities that do not affect the substance of a contract or financial instrument, an immaterial change cannot be used to uphold a criminal conviction.
For example, when you fixed a slight typing mistake in a name to make it fit a government ID or when you revised a date in a document to indicate a deadline extension that everybody had already agreed to verbally, these acts may technically be illegal. However, they remain legally immaterial.
A thorough dissection of the facts is needed to prove the “materiality” defense. The facts of the case require you to demonstrate that you did not affect the rights and obligations of all parties before and after your actions. This is an effective strategy, especially in complex corporate or real estate settings where administrative corrections are prevalent. In bringing out the fact that the fundamental object of the document was accomplished and that neither party was defrauded of property, money, or legal standing, you point out the absence of a “false making” in the eyes of the law.
Find a Criminal Defense Attorney Near Me
Forgery is more than a simple paper trail. It is a serious white-collar offense, which may dismantle your reputation and your liberty in one blow. The legal implications, whether it is heavy restitution for time spent behind bars, can be life-changing, even in cases involving forged signatures, doctored financial statements, and so on.
Do not allow a mistake or a misunderstanding to characterize your future. If you are facing forgery charges, you need a defense as sophisticated as the allegations against you. At CCLG: Los Angeles Criminal Attorney, we offer the aggressive, tactical defense that you need to challenge the state’s evidence and defend your rights in court. Contact us at 323-922-3418.
