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Penal Code 470: California?s Forgery Law

By Neil Shous, Esq.

Most people think of forgery as signing someone else?s name to a document without the person?s permission. But Penal Code 470 ? California?s forgery law actually reads much broader than that. In California, a person commits forgery when he knowingly alters, creates, or uses a written document, intending to commit a fraud. Said another way, forgery is creating or making use of a new document for the forger?s personal benefit and gain. For example, a person who knowingly deposits a bad check in his bank account commits a forgery, even if he was not the one who signed it or created the false document. Likewise, a con artist who deceives a person into signing a fraudulent paper commits a forgery. As such, California?s forgery law is a sort of ?catch all? that criminalizes a wide range of deceptive and fraudulent acts.continue to full post

Full post as published by California Criminal Defense Blog on July 08, 2009 (boomark / email).