Source: https://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/forgery-laws-massachusetts.htm
Timestamp: 2020-07-05 06:05:23
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Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1', '§ 1', '§ 2', '§ 3', '§ 7', '§ 1', '§ 2', '§ 7', '§ 10', '§ 13']

Forgery Laws in Massachusetts | CriminalDefenseLawyer.com
Forgery Laws in Massachusetts
It is illegal in Massachusetts to falsely makes, alter, use (or possess with intent to use) any of several specified documents with the intent to use it to injure or defraud someone. Called “forgery,” this crime and its penalties are discussed below.
In Massachusetts, forgery may occur under a number of circumstances and may involve many kinds of documents. However, all forgery cases have the following elements in common, each of which the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt in order to gain a conviction.
The first element involves the defendant’s behavior with regard to a document. Specifically, the prosecutor must show that the defendant falsely made, altered, used (or possessed with intent to use) any of several specified documents with the intent to defraud or injure someone. These include any of the documents described in the next section.
(267 Ma. Gen. Laws Ann. § 1.)
The second element deals with the document involved in the offense. Writings that count for a forgery charge must have two characteristics: they must be of legal significance, and must be false. To satisfy this element, the prosecutor must show that the writing in question is included in both of these categories, as discussed below.
The writing must have apparent legal significance. In Massachusetts, these documents include any:
public record, certificate, return or attestation of a clerk or register of a court, public register, notary public, justice of the peace, town clerk or any other public officer, in relation to a matter wherein such certificate, return or attestation may be received as legal proof
charter, deed, will, testament, bond, power of attorney, policy of insurance, bill of lading, bill of exchange or promissory note
order, acquittance or discharge for money or other property or a credit card or United States Dollar Traveler’s Check (or “Cheque”) purchased from a bank or other financially responsible institution, the purpose of which is a source of ready money on cashing the instrument without identification other than the signature of the purchaser
acceptance of a bill of exchange, or an endorsement or assignment of a bill of exchange or promissory note for the payment of money
accountable receipt for money, goods or other property
stock certificate, or any evidence of title to property; or
certificate of title, duplicate certificate of title, certificate issued in place of a duplicate certificate, the registration book, entry book, or other similar specified entries in the docket of the recorder. (267 Ma. Gen. Laws Ann. § 1.)
Other documents included here are:
railroad-related tickets, badges, and related items
passes to performances, entertainment, exhibitions, or other similar events. (267 Ma. Gen. Laws Ann. § 2.)
seals and stamps from land court offices (267 Ma. Gen. Laws Ann. § 3.), and
bank notes and several other specified government-issued documents. (267 Ma. Gen. Laws Ann. § § 7 & 8.).
A mere error in a document does not make it false. Rather, the prosecution must prove that it was purposely altered to mislead the reader. A stock certificate, for example, with an accidental misspelling would not alone constitute forgery. In contrast, if a defendant created the certificate with a misspelling with the intent to defraud the certificate holder (or anyone, for that matter), then the defendant might be convicted of forgery. The later example meets all elements of the crime of forgery, whereas a mere mistake in a document does not.
Finally, in addition to the elements described above, the prosecutor must prove that the defendant took the action with the specific purpose of defrauding someone (or some organization). Notice that it is the intent to defraud, not the actual success of the scheme that matters for a conviction. Therefore, in the stock certificate example from above, if the defendant alters the certificate with the intent to defraud the holder, but no harm ends up coming from this action, the defendant may still be convicted of forgery.
This element protects people who possess or sign fraudulent documents without knowing they are false from being subject to criminal liability. For example, if you are the unwitting holder of the stock certificate described above, and you try to exchange it for cash only to find out that the certificate is a forgery, you would not be subject to forgery charges for the possession of the forged certificate because you had no intent to defraud anyone.
In Massachusetts, forgery incurs fines, jail or prison time, or both, according to the type of document involved in the crime, and according to the defendant’s action with regard to the document. For example, if you make, alter, use, or possess any of the documents listed in the first section under “A False Writing,” or any seal or stamp from a land court, you will face up to two years in jail (or up to ten years in prison). (267 Ma. Gen. Laws Ann. § § 1 & 3.)
In contrast, making, altering, using, or possessing a railroad-related document, or any of the admission papers or tickets listed above incurs a fine of up to $500, up to two years in jail (or up to three years in prison), or both. (267 Ma. Gen. Laws Ann. § 2.)
Creating or altering bank notes, traveler’s checks, and certain state-issued bills of credit (or other documents issued by the state treasury) incurs up to life in prison (or any lesser term at the judge’s discretion). (267 Ma. Gen. Laws Ann. § 7.) Using these forged documents with the intent to defraud—sometimes also called “uttering a false document”—or possessing them with the intent to defraud someone incurs a fine of up to $1,000 and up to a year in jail; or up to five years in prison. (267 Ma. Gen. Laws Ann. § § 10 & 12.)
Possessing Forgery Tools
It is also a crime to possess tools or instruments to accomplish forgery with the intent to use them for that purpose. This includes, for example, a plate to replicate a state-issued treasury bond. This crime also includes knowingly providing such tools or other materials to others (such as furnishing special paper for printing money) for the purpose of creating forged documents.
Possession of such an instrument with the intent to use it in forgery incurs a fine of up to $1,000 and up to two years in jail; or up to ten years in prison. (267 Ma. Gen. Laws Ann. § 13.)