Forgery is the criminal offense of making or uttering a false document or other instrument with the intent to defraud or harm someone—including a written or printed document, money, coins, tokens, stamps, checks, cashier’s checks, bonds, money orders, traveler’s checks, real property deeds, contracts, stock certificates, lottery tickets, wills, seals, credit cards, badges, trademarks, and symbols of value, right, privilege, or identification. Uttering a document means to declare—either directly or indirectly, and through words or actions—that the document is legitimate and what it purports to be.
Forging a document includes altering, making, completing, executing, or authenticating a writing so it purports (1) to be the act of another who did not authorize that act; (2) to have been executed at a time or place or in a numbered sequence other than was in fact the case; or (3) to be a copy of an original when no such original existed.
Forging a document also includes the acts of issuing, transferring, registering the transfer of, recording, passing, publishing, or otherwise uttering a document that is forged. And in some states the mere possession of a forged document with the intent to utter it constitutes forging a document.
The definitions, penalties, and punishments for the crime of forgery vary from state to state and are generally located in a state’s statutes—often in the penal or criminal code.
In Ohio, forgery is addressed under Ohio Revised Code Section 2913.31. The law defines forgery as the act of creating, making, or altering a writing with intent to defraud. This includes any document or instrument that has legal significance, such as money, stamps, securities, and legal contracts. The act of uttering a forged document, which means offering it as genuine, is also covered under this statute. The law further specifies that possessing a forged instrument with the intent to defraud is also considered forgery. The severity of the offense can range from a misdemeanor to a felony, depending on factors such as the type of document forged and the value involved. Penalties for forgery in Ohio can include fines, imprisonment, or both, and are determined based on the specifics of the offense and the offender's criminal history.
