Have you been accused of forgery? If you have, you need to be aware of the legalities involved in a process of being charged. A conviction is different from a charge, so it is important to understand the ramifications between being charged and being convicted. A person who is likely to be charged with forgery must be found to have devices pertinent to a forgery; yet it is important to note that a valid intention must also be proved. In a court, in order to be proven guilty, you must first have an intention to forge. Intentions can vary and can include the following reasons: intent to defraud, injure, or the knowledge that the actions will or can be used to defraud or injure anyone.

Even if a court proves that you’ve had intent to forge a document, intention alone is not enough for a conviction. The prosecutor must also provide evidence that the act was committed. The following reasons can be considered an act: changing something that was someone else’s without their consent, speaking or informing someone of information that can become forged or authenticating or committing an act by which the rightful owner does not know or consent to a change. Another act could be where a copy was originated as a forged copy that did not exist; this also includes a number sequence that is passed off as original but never existed in the first place.

In New Jersey there are certain standards that must be fulfilled to be convicted of forgery. According to one source, writing is the process by which information is recorded on valuable assets: money, coins, checks, labels, sales receipts, badges, stamps, and more. In this state, a criminal defense attorney might attack and question the evidence of the writing tool. If an attorney can prove that the tool could not record or copy the proper information needed regarding the act, then the charges could be dropped.

Also, if a document is not a valuable asset or the means to creating a circumstance where valuable assets are given due to a forged document, an attorney may prove that the document lacked the capacity to defraud. According to one source, if a harsh letter was written and signed with someone else’s name, forgery was not committed because the letter was not a means to depriving someone of valuables. Also, in order for a crime to be called forgery it must have been able to take money, rights, or property from someone else. If a forged document is obviously invalid, the document lacks the means for a person to perceive authenticity.

In New Jersey, punitive action for forged documents usually include an 18 month sentence in jail; this is considered a 4th degree crime. Sometimes, the charge may be more serious and be considered a 3rd degree charge; if this is the case, a person convicted may face up to five years in prison. A third degree offense includes the following:

• Passing documents such as a license, off as a government document;
• Forging a check;
• Writing or changing 15 different sales receipts; or
• Possessing a forgery device

Every state has different standards and regulations though it is universally recognized that as the degrees get smaller, the crime is at risk for a higher punishment should a person be convicted. In order to understand your case more clearly, you might want to discuss the penalties in your state with your attorney. For more immediate results you can visit your state website to see more specified rules and procedures in your state.