forgery

Plain English

Forgery is a crime where someone creates a fake document, alters a genuine one, or imitates someone's signature without authorization, intending to use it fraudulently. Common examples include forging checks, creating fake identification documents, or signing someone else's name on a contract. The key element is intent to defraud—simply making a mistake or creating a document for non-fraudulent purposes doesn't constitute forgery. Forgery is typically prosecuted as a felony and can result in significant prison time.

Example

A man forges his employer's signature on company checks and cashes them for personal use. When discovered, he's arrested and charged with forgery and theft. The prosecution proves he intentionally created fake signatures to steal money from the company.

Used in a sentence

“She was charged with forgery after investigators discovered she had signed her deceased mother's name on banking documents.”

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