1. The act of fraudulently making a false document or altering a real one to be used as if genuine (the contract was void because of the seller’s forgery).
— Also termed false making. • Though forgery was a misdemeanor at common law, modern statutes typically make it a felony. [Cases: Forgery 1.]
2. A false or altered document made to look genuine by someone with the intent to deceive (he was not the true property owner because the deed was a forgery).
— Also termed fake.
3. Under the Model Penal Code, the act of fraudulently altering, authenticating, issuing, or transferring a writing without appropriate authorization. • Under the explicit terms of the Code, writing can include items such as coins and credit cards. Model Penal Code § 224.1(1). — forge, vb. — forger, n.
“While it is true that there is a distinction between fraud and forgery, and forgery contains some elements that are not included in fraud, forgeries are a species of fraud. In essence, the crime of forgery involves the making, altering, or completing of an instrument by someone other than the ostensible maker or drawer or an agent of the ostensible maker or drawer.” 37 C.J.S. Forgery § 2, at 66 (1997).
double forgery. A draft having a forged payor signature and a forged indorsement.
