MBE Rules · Criminal Law
Forgery
The rule
Forgery is the making or altering of a writing with apparent legal significance so that it is false, with intent to defraud. The writing must be one whose falsity would deceive as to authenticity (e.g., checks, contracts, deeds), not merely the accuracy of its contents.
In plain English
The lie must be about who wrote or signed the document, not what it says. Signing someone else's name to a check is forgery; lying inside your own signed letter is not.
The trap
Fabricating false content in a genuine document is fraud, not forgery. The forger lies about authorship or authorization.
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