Forgery in Florida
Forgery is a Third Degree Felony in Florida.
Under Florida Statute 831.01, the crime of Forgery is committed when a person falsifies, alters, counterfeits, or forges a document that carries “legal efficacy” with the intent to injure or defraud another person or entity.
Legal Efficacy
To fall under the purview of the forgery statute, a document must have some legal efficacy, meaning it must have a legal significance that affects another person’s legal right to something. [1] As such, forging a love letter to someone will not constitute criminal forgery.
Statutory examples of a legal document include checks, deeds, wills, testaments, powers of attorney, insurance policies, bill of lading, promissory notes, receipts, passage tickets, and any documents that are required to be certified or notarized by law.
Forging vs Uterring
Forgery and Uttering Forged Instruments are distinct and separate crimes.
Forgery criminalizes the creation of a forged document. Whereas Uttering Forged Instruments criminalizes the distribution of the forged document.
Penalties for Forgery
The crime of Forgery is a Third Degree Felony in Florida and is punishable by up to five (5) years in prison, five (5) years of probation, and a $5,000 fine.
Forgery is assigned a Level 1 offense severity ranking under Florida’s Criminal Punishment Code. A judge may sentence a person convicted of Forgery to probation, but may also impose a sentence up to the statutory maximum of five years in prison.
Defenses to Forgery
In addition to the pretrial defenses and trial defenses that can be raised in any criminal case, specific defenses to the crime of Forgery are:
Intent to Defraud
Forgery requires proof that a forged document was intended to be viewed as genuine.
Patently Ridiculous Writings
Forgeries of patently ridiculous documents, such as deeds to land on the moon, licenses to kill, or checks for a “Zillion” dollars do not qualify as having the ability to fool people and should not be considered criminal forgery.
Contact Criminal Defense Lawyer Richard Hornsby
If you have been arrested or charged with the crime of Forgery in Central Florida or the Greater Orlando area, contact Orlando Criminal Defense Lawyer Richard Hornsby today.
The initial consultation is free and I am always available to advise you on the proper course of action that can be taken.