Have you or a loved one been charged with a forgery crime here in Bergen County, New Jersey? Forgery is a serious crime in New Jersey. The lasting impact of having a forgery conviction on your record not only may expose you or your loved one to jail time, but also potential employers will likely be hesitant in hiring. Therefore, it is imperative that a criminal defense attorney defend you against this charge. At the Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall, we have the knowledge, experience, man-power, and credentials to help you or your loved one combat a forgery charge. Our office has:

  • Eleven (11) criminal defense attorneys on staff
  • Eight (8) former Assistant County Prosecutors
    • One was the head of Major Crimes Division, another was the head of the Trial Team
  • Four (4) former Municipal Prosecutors
  • Two (2) selected to this years Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers Rising Stars list for criminal defense
    • Only 2.5% of attorneys in New Jersey are selected to this prestigious list
  • One (1) certified Criminal Trial Attorney
    • Certification comes from the Supreme Court of New Jersey
    • Less than 1% of attorneys in New Jersey holds this certification

If you or a loved one has been arrested and charged with a forgery crime, please don’t hesitate to contact the Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall 24/7 at 201-201-0086.

Hackensack Forgery Lawyers

If you or a loved one is facing a forgery charge, then this is a serious crime. Forgery under the statute (N.J.S.A. 2C:21-1) is when:

  • a person with the purpose to defraud or injure anyone, or with knowledge knows that he/she is facilitating a fraud or injury to be perpetrated by anyone, he/she:
    • alters or changes any writing of another without his/her authorization;
    • makes, completes, executes, authenticates, issues, or transfers any writing so that it looks to be the act of another person who didn’t authorize that act or of a fictitious person, or to have been executed at a time or place or in a numbered sequence other than was in fact the case, or to be a copy of an original when an original never existed; or
    • utters any writing which he knows to be forged in a manner specified in the paragraphs above.
  • The definition of a Writing includes the following;
    • printing or any other method of recording information,
    • money,
    • coins,
    • tokens,
    • stamps,
    • seals,
    • credit cards,
    • badges,
    • trademarks,
    • access devices, and
    • other symbols of value, right, privilege, or identification, including retail sales receipts, universal product code (UPC) labels and checks.
  • This section shall apply without limitation to forged, copied or imitated checks.
  • The definition of information includes, but is not limited to:
    • personal identifying information, which means any;
      • name, number or other information that may be used, alone or in conjunction with any other information, to identify a specific individual and includes, but is not limited to, the name, address, telephone number, date of birth, social security number, official State issued identification number, employer or taxpayer number, place of employment, employee identification number, demand deposit account number, savings account number, credit card number, mother’s maiden name, unique biometric data, such as fingerprint, voice print, retina or iris image or other unique physical representation, or unique electronic identification number, address or routing code of the individual.

Grading Forgery

Forgery is a crime of the third degree if:

  • the writing is or purports to be part of an issue of money, securities, postage or revenue stamps, or other instruments, certificates or licenses issued by the government, New Jersey Prescription Blanks, or part of an issue of stock, bonds or other instruments representing interest in or claims against any property or enterprise, personal identifying information or an access device, or
  • the writing is or purports to be a check, or
  • the writing is or purports to be 15 or more forged or altered retail sales receipts or universal product code labels.

If one of the above does not apply, then forgery is fourth degree crime.

Penalties for Forgery

If forgery is charged as a third degree crime, then it is punishable by up to five years and a minimum of three years in New Jersey state prison. The maximum fine for forgery is $15,000. If it is charged as a fourth degree crime, then the maximum prison sentence is eighteen months, with a maximum $10,000 fine.

Fort Lee Forgery Attorneys

If you or a loved one is facing a forgery charge, please do not hesitate to contact our firm 24/7 at 201-201-0086.